Gilbert Cisneros

Mr. CISNEROS

Mr. CISNEROS. Mr. Speaker, a couple days ago, the President gave a State of the Union Address that did nothing to promote unity but, rather, used fear to further a divisive agenda against immigrants by repeating lies about his manufactured emergency at our southern border. However, there was no mention of the real crisis. The real crisis stems from the President's inhumane separation policies. Mr. Speaker, 8 months since his cruel zero-tolerance policy first came to light, the number of children who were ripped away from families at the border continues to rise. At first, the administration said nearly 3,000 children were separated from their parents. Now, we are learning that it has been thousands more. The administration also claims that they can't easily find the parents of the children they ripped away, and they don't even think it is worth the time to locate them. This inhumane policy and how they treat these children goes against everything this country stands for. The President and this administration need to do everything that they can to ensure the reunification of these families. The prolonged separation of these children has caused irreparable damage to their mental health and well-being. That, Mr. President, is the real crisis that you have created at the southern border.

Mr. CISNEROS

Mr. CISNEROS. Madam Speaker, the time has come for the President to end this shutdown and put our Federal workers above political bickering. Hundreds of thousands of Federal workers, many of them veterans, continue to show up to work every day without pay. TSA employees, FBI employees, air traffic controllers, coastguardsmen and women as well as many others continue to make the security and safety of our Nation a top priority. One such person that I spoke to is Lupe Mejia. Lupe is a veteran, who currently works for the FBI on counterterrorism issues. Her husband also works for the FBI, and neither one of them is getting paid. During this shutdown, Lupe has been going to food banks to keep food costs down. Paying the bills has become a struggle, and she is trying to do this all without dipping into their family savings, but it is getting harder and harder each day. Madam Speaker, I say to the President that his shutdown is causing hardship to families like Lupe's all across this country. Thirty-four days is long enough. Let's do what is right and pay our Federal employees, especially those who put their lives on the line for our country. They deserve to be compensated for the work they do and the security they provide. Let's bring sanity back to government, and I call on the President to tomorrow end this shutdown.