Pramila Jayapal

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick).

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee.

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1689 to designate Haiti for temporary protected status, or TPS, and I thank Representatives Pressley and Gillen for their incredible tenacity and leadership in building the bipartisan coalition needed to get this bill to the floor. This is a hopeful moment for so many across the country to take a positive step forward on immigration policy in America after so much darkness. TPS was established with broad, bipartisan support in 1990 to provide people who are already in the United States a safe haven when their home countries are devastated by armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. TPS is built on the simple idea that America should not force people back to deadly and life-threatening conditions, a principle that has guided both Republican and Democratic administrations for decades. Today, the Trump administration is dismantling this longstanding commitment to our core values, attempting to end TPS for countries where the conditions are still incredibly dangerous. One country with which the President has seemed obsessed since his first term is Haiti. The President has called Haiti a S-hole country and cruelly attempted to end its TPS designation during his first term. Luckily, that was stopped by the lower courts, but the threat remains. In less than 2 weeks, the ability of the Trump administration to end TPS for Haiti will be heard by the Supreme Court. Today, over 350,000 Haitians have TPS. It would be unconscionable to send them back to Haiti, an action that would lead to people's deaths. That goes against everything this country is supposed to stand for. For years, Haiti has been dealing with significant political turmoil that has resulted in instability all over the country. Our own State Department has issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for Haiti. They say that individuals should not travel to Haiti due to ``kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited healthcare.'' The country has been in a state of emergency since March of 2024. Terminating TPS means the United States of America is forcing people to return to real and imminent harm, even death. However, this isn't just about what is right and wrong for Haitians or for other TPS holders, Mr. Speaker. It is also about what benefits Americans. Despite all the lies and misinformation spread by this administration and its rightwing echo chamber, TPS broadly, and Haitian TPS holders specifically, are good for our communities and our economy. TPS has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to work legally and to contribute to our economy. Haitian TPS recipients, in particular, regularly work in industries that are currently experiencing severe labor shortages, like construction and hospitality and healthcare. In healthcare alone, Haitians are the sixth largest group of workers, making up one in five nursing assistants, personal care aides, and home health aides. These workers keep our economy running, helping businesses that struggle to fill jobs. They pay taxes, support local businesses, and contribute billions of dollars to our economy every single year. Each year, TPS holders from Haiti who reside in the U.S. earn $3.9 billion in total household income. They pay a total of $983.9 million in taxes, including $600.8 million in Federal taxes and $383.1 million in State and local taxes, and they hold $2.9 billion in spending power. Many Haitian TPS holders have lived in the United States for many years. They have followed our laws, paid their taxes, and demonstrated their commitment to this country. Instead of stripping them of legal status and sending them back to dangerous conditions, we should be providing them with a path to long-term stability. Donald Trump ran on a false promise, that he would get rid of the ``worst of the worst,'' but instead his administration has been moving forward their real goal: Ending all legal immigration to this country. Just a few days ago, the conservative CATO Institute published a report showing that Trump has cut legal immigration by 2.5 times as much as undocumented immigration since coming into office this term. Unlawful immigration had already fallen substantially, even before Trump took office, because the Biden administration expanded the legal pathways that people had to be here with legal presence, work and contribute. However, instead of maintaining that, Trump and Stephen Miller have done everything possible to destroy all legal immigration to this country, including eliminating TPS. H.R. 1689 provides a glimmer of hope to immigrant communities across the country, starting with Haitians. It tells them that we value their work and contributions to our country. It tells them that we won't send them to their deaths. It tells them that America still welcomes the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Gillen), the sponsor of this bill.

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), who has been such a leader on bringing this bill to the floor.

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, President Trump has illegally and unconstitutionally taken us into an expensive and dangerous war with Iran. The war has cost taxpayers $50 billion already, and the Pentagon will request $200 billion more on top of a record $1.5 trillion budget request. We have already lost 13 U.S. troops, including Major Ariana Savino from my home State of Washington. We have killed thousands of Iranian and Lebanese civilians and displaced millions more. Gas prices at home are up to $7 in my home State, and families are hurting. Another 10,000 U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the Middle East, with absolutely no strategy, no plan, and no exit. Meanwhile, the madman in the White House tweets about exterminating an entire civilization, rages at the Pope for calling for peace, and pretends that he is Jesus. We cannot allow this to continue. Let's rein in this President and restore the sole authority of Congress and Congress alone to go to war. Vote ``yes.''

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Dexter and Tonko for hosting this incredibly important Special Order hour. Since Donald Trump was sworn in 14 months ago, DHS has terrorized our children. Every single day 50 U.S. citizen children have had a parent detained, on average, and over 11,000 American children in total. After Trump restarted the cruel practice of detaining families and children, ICE has jailed about 3,500 adults and children. That includes over 900 children jailed beyond the 20-day legal limit set by longstanding legal settlement. More and more children are forced to appear in court alone as Trump has cut funding for legal representation. Let's talk about what this all looks like. In Washington State, ICE arrested a mother dropping off her 4-year- old son at a preschool. In Oregon, masked ICE agents broke the car windows and arrested a father dropping off his son at preschool. In Chicago, ICE dragged a daycare worker out of the facility, slammed her face against the daycare's glass doors, and arrested her. Recently, in Vermont, the community surrounded a home for hours as ICE sought to enter without a warrant. Demonstrators created a human tunnel allowing a 4-year-old child wrapped in a blanket to escape the home. Her mother was desperate to get her to safety. This is horrifying. We can't talk about any of this without recognizing the toll on our educators and our daycare workers who are on the front lines doing everything they can to protect our children, even as many of them are immigrants as well and face threats to their own safety. We have also seen Federal agents use physical violence and chemical weapons indiscriminately. In Chicago, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino deployed tear gas in a residential neighborhood as children were gathering for a Halloween parade. In the words of a Federal judge: These kids, their sense of safety was shattered, and it is going to take a long time for that to come back. In Minneapolis, ICE deployed tear gas near a family in their car, causing a 6-month-old baby to stop breathing. All of this leads to lasting trauma for our children, regardless of their immigration status or whether they have an immigrant parent or a family member. Here is what Allison Bassett Ratto, a child clinical psychologist, has said about the harms to children: What they see are their classmates, their family members, and their neighbors often being apprehended in violent and confusing ways while doing things like picking up their children from the bus stop or going to their jobs. For children, this creates a sense that nowhere and no one is safe. The stress, the anxiety, and the trauma can become chronic, leading to both immediate and long-term damage to children's mental and physical health. Tomorrow, as ranking member of the Immigration Subcommittee, I will be holding a hearing entitled: Trump's Assault on Our Children, and we will have legal and medical experts, educators, and directly impacted people who will testify to the harms and the trauma being caused to our children. Donald Trump ran on going after the so-called worst of the worst. It has been very clear that this was never his intent. He made it clear that chaos and cruelty go hand in hand with mass deportation. It is inflicting lasting trauma on our children, regardless of immigration status. Do not close your eyes. Do not close your eyes to this harm that our own government is inflicting on our children. Do not talk about Christian values or any other religious value and then traumatize our children. Mr. Speaker, we will not stop fighting against this horror. We will not stop because it is our responsibility in this body to make sure that our government is not traumatizing these kids.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, we also want to make sure that the work that we do in this body reflects the priorities of the American people. Once again, this bill is nothing but an attempt to distract the American people from Republicans' failure to lower prices. This morning I went online and I looked at what gas prices are in my home State of Washington. They are over $6 for diesel and over $5 for regular unleaded. That is an increase of almost a buck just in the last couple of weeks. I know what my constituents care about. It is the fact that they can't afford their gas. Childcare right now is around $21,000 per child in the State of Washington. Healthcare premiums have gone crazy since Republicans have refused to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. What people are facing is a complete destruction of their ability to live decent lives. Are we addressing any of that here? At a townhall last week, I had a constituent stand up and tell me that he was a war veteran from the Afghanistan war. He was a sergeant in the United States Marines. He said he spent his entire life fighting in these forever wars. He doesn't want another one. But we are not talking about any of that here. We are not even making sure that the President does what he is supposed to do and comes to Congress for authorization for this war. In fact, we just heard that the Pentagon is putting forward a request for $200 billion more for this war. How on earth are we going to pay for that? It is absolutely ridiculous. So I think that this is all about trying to go back to the old playbook of trying to vilify immigrants and trying to make people blame immigrants for everything that is wrong with their lives. The reality is, instead of figuring out how we can stop immigration agents from murdering U.S. citizens on the street or arresting and imprisoning children, we are back to Republicans' favorite type of bill: Find a crime, blame an immigrant, make people deportable and inadmissible without requiring a conviction, deny them basic due process, rinse, and repeat. By the way, for people who are listening, who are upset about the mass deportations that the Republicans do not want to talk about here because they are incredibly unpopular, this is the pipeline to those mass detentions and mass deportations. This is the way that DHS, a lawless ICE and CBP are able to just go out and pick up anybody and continue to detain and deport people, including U.S. citizens. This one that is on the floor today is a new one, even for us. It is moving into the arena of harming animals. Now, I am speaking as someone who has long been a champion of animal welfare. I have supported bills that protect animals and prevent inhumane treatment of them. My dog, Otis, has been a loved and loving member of our family for 14 years. He is an incredibly resilient guy. Some of my constituents recognize him more than my spouse because he goes everywhere with us. I take violence against animals seriously, and so do our immigration laws. The crime referenced in this bill requires someone to willfully and maliciously harm a dog or a horse. This is already a crime involving moral turpitude, which can render someone deportable or inadmissible from the country. In 2018, the Board of Immigration Appeals made clear that the crime of animal fighting is a crime involving moral turpitude, and that is because there is a clear intent to harm the animal. In addition to the binding precedent set by the Board of Immigration Appeals, the 9th and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeals also found that animal cruelty is a crime involving moral turpitude. This issue is already well covered under our immigration laws, and this bill is, once again, largely unnecessary. If Republicans are concerned about cruelty to animals, why not look at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who shot and killed her 14- month-old dog, Cricket. Unfortunately, this bill goes too far in eroding due process rights. Under current law, a person does not need to be convicted of a crime to be inadmissible. However, under most circumstances, you do need a conviction to be deportable. Once again, as they have with so many other bills, my Republican colleagues do not require someone to be convicted of this crime to be deportable from the country. That means that a green card holder who has lived here for decades could be deported.

Ms. JAYAPAL. That means that a green card holder who has lived here for decades could be deported from the country without even being convicted of a crime. This bill was written in response to an incident where a 70-year-old man kicked a Customs and Border Protection agriculture detector dog at Dulles Airport. The incident was horrible, and no dog should ever be kicked or harmed. However, that man was tried and convicted in Federal Court before he was removed from the country underscoring how unnecessary this law is. It has never been more important for people to have their day in court. Look at what is happening across the country, Mr. Speaker, as Federal immigration authorities terrorize American communities. We have seen residential communities tear-gassed without a care for the young children who have been affected. We have seen a teacher with work authorization arrested at the daycare where she works, inflicting irreversible harm on the little kids whom she cares for. We have seen U.S. citizens brutalized and even killed by ICE and Border Patrol most recently in Minnesota. We have seen, again and again, how ICE has accused people of assaulting them only to find out that it was a lie.

Ms. JAYAPAL. The Wall Street Journal just released an investigation finding that most accusations against U.S. citizens for attacking immigration agents were unsubstantiated. The right to being innocent until proven guilty should be something that every single one of us in this Chamber can agree to. It is a bedrock principle of fairness, of due process, and of the rule of law. Republicans gave ICE tens of billions of dollars to continue the lawless assault on the American public. Republicans own this mess, but it is up to all of us to fix it. Republicans want to pass absurd legislation like this one that only makes the system worse, not better. Mr. Speaker, oppose this bill.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1958. This bill was inspired by the allegations of fraud in Minnesota that a conservative YouTuber claims to have discovered, and it is part and parcel of the Trump administration's deadly assault on Minnesota. The Trump administration used these fraud allegations to surge thousands of lawless ICE and Border Patrol agents into Minnesota who used increasingly violent tactics to terrorize communities, to kidnap people off the streets, to break into homes without a warrant, to deploy chemical weapons, and to assault anyone who dared to peacefully and lawfully protest, observe, or record their activities. We can never forget that ICE's lawless actions resulted in the killings of two U.S. citizens. Renee Good, a mother of three, had just dropped one of her three children off at school and stopped to support her neighbors when an ICE agent shot her not once, not twice, but three times at point blank range and killed her. Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, tried to help a peaceful observer whom Federal agents had shoved to the ground when several agents attacked him, wrestled him to the ground, and, Mr. Speaker, shot him 10 times. The harm that the Trump administration inflicted on Minnesota has resulted in generational trauma on people of all statuses, all in the name of so-called fraud. However, this was never about fraud. We know that because the Department of Justice under President Biden began investigating these crimes back in 2022. Likewise, the bill before us today it is not really about fraud either. Current law already allows people to be deported for committing fraud. Individuals can become deportable if they are convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, or CIMT, for which a sentence of 1 year or longer may be imposed. The fraud offenses in this bill carry maximum penalties between 1 and 30 years, which clearly meet the 1-year minimum required for deportability. Additionally, multiple fraud offenses are specifically defined as aggravated felonies, if the crime carries a sentence of 1 year or more. Conviction or an aggravated felony makes a person deportable, but the key word here, Mr. Speaker, is ``conviction.'' This bill is really about stripping due process and making it easier to deport immigrants with lawful status, like green card holders. Under this bill, a green card holder who has been in this country for decades could be deported without a conviction. Under current law, most deportability grounds require a person to be convicted of a crime. As a result, if this bill were to become law, it would be easier to deport someone for fraud offenses than it would be to deport them for murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor. We should all ask ourselves: Why are Republicans again trying to deport people who came here legally without requiring a criminal conviction and without any due process? Why are they constantly trying to fearmonger Americans into thinking that fraud among immigrants is a giant problem? Could it be, Mr. Speaker, to distract from the mega corporations that are bankrolling Republican campaigns, getting Republican tax cuts, all while screwing working Americans and spiking prices? At a time when DHS agents are killing, arresting, and unlawfully entering the homes of U.S. citizens and immigrants alike, when the Department of Homeland Security is defying court orders, violating constitutional rights, and unleashing violence and chaos in cities across the country, the Republican response is to hand this out-of- control agency yet even more power. This is another bill that is straight out of the Republican playbook that we have seen over and over again. It is an attack on two things that have been a core part of America since day one: immigration and due process. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, today, I mistakenly voted NAY on Roll Call No. 86, on Motion to Recommit on H.R. 7744, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 86. Stated against:

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Nancy Nordhoff. Nancy passed away peacefully on January 7 at the age of 93 at her home on Whidbey Island. She was surrounded by her family. She fiercely and steadfastly championed women's rights, literary arts, and environmental causes for over five decades. It is so appropriate that I honor her today, a day when so many survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's horrific ring of predators and pedophiles are still awaiting justice. Those survivors are here to draw attention to this massive coverup and to call for justice. Nancy would have loved that. She would have loved that so many of us are wearing white today to honor the suffragettes and to say that we are not giving up on this struggle for women's rights and women's voices. Nancy was a beloved Pacific Northwest philanthropist, a giant among giants, who used her resources and her time to make change that supported and lifted up the voices and the needs of those too often left behind. Throughout her lifetime, she generously founded and supported groundbreaking nonprofits and her local community. Everywhere she turned, she made people's lives better, not only in Washington State but across the United States and across the world. A proud graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Nancy's feminism, charitable giving, and activism were the foundation of her life's work: seeing a need, coming up with a solution, and taking action to make people's lives better. In 1988, Nancy founded Hedgebrook, a world-renowned nonprofit on Whidbey Island that supports female-identified writers with residencies and radical hospitality, on land that allowed for rest, rejuvenation, creativity, and a reconnection to nature. Nancy believed that it is women's voices that make the world better and that those voices have been silenced for far too long and that we need to be actually intentional about nurturing and lifting up those voices. Hedgebrook has established hundreds of new and known writers who came to bravely define their own lives, communities, and creative and political paths. It wasn't just a place. It was Nancy herself who never stepped away from the work. She was there, meeting writers, listening to their ideas, educating herself, and often becoming the wind behind their sails. For over 38 years, Hedgebrook has supported a growing and influential alumnae community of women authoring change. Now over 2,000 writers strong, it has reached millions of people of all ages. Hedgebrook's ripple effect is truly remarkable. I was fortunate to meet Nancy decades ago through my own residency there and then later to serve on the board as Hedgebrook grew and then on the Creative Advisory Council with luminaries and friends like Gloria Steinem. Nancy's philanthropy and environmental advocacy also profoundly shaped her local community's physical and civic landscape. She founded Goosefoot Community Fund to support essential needs, help local businesses grow, preserve historic places and rural landscapes, and connect neighbors. She was instrumental in supporting the Whidbey Camano Land Trust acquisitions, restoring salmon habitats and protecting wetlands. Many organizations benefited from Nancy's hands-on support and largess. She literally loved getting her hands dirty every day, in the dirt, in the gardens. She was always the last to fold up tables at the end of countless social justice and book events that she made happen. Her humility, her grace, and her compassion were just some of the many qualities that set her apart and made her so beloved. She was also known to support families and individuals in times of need. She mentored many women in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy, while championing their creative projects and careers. I was one of those very fortunate ones to have called Nancy a true friend. She was such a remarkable and constant presence in my life and a supporter in every endeavor that I undertook from my early work on immigrant rights to my transition into politics. Nancy never wanted acknowledgment, even though she received numerous honors and awards for her life's work, including being designated a Women's History Month honoree by the National Women's History Project and a National Philanthropy Day Outstanding Philanthropist. Madam Speaker, it is not an exaggeration to say that millions of people who will never know her name have and will continue to benefit from her extraordinary life and legacy. Nancy is survived by her wife, Lynn Hays; her children, Grace Nordhoff, Charles ``Chuck'' Nordhoff, Carolyn Nordhoff Reid, and their spouses; and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We extend our tremendous gratitude to them for sharing her with the world. Her legacy of generosity and kindness will live on for generations to come.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Nancy Nordhoff. Nancy passed away peacefully on January 7 at the age of 93 at her home on Whidbey Island, surrounded by her family. She fiercely and steadfastly championed women's rights, literary prowess and environmental causes for over five decades. Nancy was a beloved Pacific Northwest philanthropist, a giant among giants who used her resources and her time to make change that supported and lifted up the voices and the needs of those who are too often left behind. Throughout her lifetime, she generously founded and supported groundbreaking nonprofits and her local community. Everywhere she turned, she made people's lives better--not only in Washington State but across the United States and the broader global community. A proud graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Nancy's feminism, charitable giving and activism were the foundation of her life's work--seeing a need, coming up with a solution and taking action to make people's lives better. In 1988, Nancy founded Hedgebrook, a world-renowned nonprofit on Whidbey Island that supports female-identified writers with residencies and radical hospitality, on land that allowed for rest, rejuvenation, creativity and a reconnection to nature. Hedgebrook has established hundreds of new and known writers who came to bravely define their own lives, communities, and creative and political paths. But it wasn't just the place: it was Nancy herself, who never stepped away from the work. She was there, meeting writers, listening to their ideas, educating herself and often becoming the wind in their sails. Over 38 years, Hedgebrook has supported a growing and influential alumnae community of women authoring change--now over 2,000 writers strong-- that has reached millions of people of all ages. Hedgebrook's ripple effect is truly remarkable, and I was fortunate to meet Nancy through my own residency and then later to serve on the Board as Hedgebrook grew, and then on the Creative Advisory Board with luminaries like Gloria Steinem. Nancy's philanthropy and environmental advocacy also profoundly shaped her local community's physical and civic landscape. She founded Goosefoot Community Fund to support essential needs, help local businesses grow, preserve historic places and rural landscapes, and connect neighbors. She was instrumental in supporting Whidbey Camano Land Trust acquisitions, restoring salmon habitats and protecting wetlands. Many organizations benefited from Nancy's hands-on support and largess. She literally got her hands dirty every day and was always the last to fold up tables at the end of countless social justice and book events she made happen. Her humility, grace and compassion were just some of the many qualities that set her apart and made her so beloved. Nancy was also known to support families and individuals in a time of need. She mentored many women in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy while championing their creative projects and careers. I was one of those very fortunate ones to have called Nancy a true friend, such a remarkable and constant presence in my life as mentor and supporter in every endeavor I undertook--from my early work on immigrant rights to my transition into politics. Nancy never wanted acknowledgement, even though she received numerous honors and awards for her life's work, including being designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project and a National Philanthropy Day ``Outstanding Philanthropist.'' It is not an exaggeration to say that millions of people who will never know her name have and will continue to benefit from her extraordinary life and legacy. Nancy is survived by her wife Lynn Hays, her children: Grace Nordhoff, Charles ``Chuck'' Nordhoff, Carolyn Nordhoff Reid and their spouses; and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We extend our gratitude to them for sharing her with the world. Nancy's legacy of generosity and kindness will live on for generations to come.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I missed Roll Call vote No. 32 on January 20, 2026. Had I been present, my vote would have been Yea on Roll Call No. 32.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Goldman) as cosponsor of H.R. 6646.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this incredibly cruel bill. As prices skyrocket, as Republicans strip away healthcare from Americans across this country, strip away basic support for American families, what are we using floor time for today? A cruel attack against trans children that does nothing to lower anyone's costs and does everything to put a target on the backs of our vulnerable kids and families. I understand that there is fear that has been promoted by the majority around trans kids and what happens and what this process is. I understand that we have to explain this to people. But let me be very clear about something. The medical science is clear. The decisions that have been made by trans kids and their families are decisions that have taken months, years sometimes, to go through, consultation with parents, with medical providers, with therapists, before ever providing the medical care. The most common form of gender-affirming care for young people is medications that simply pause puberty and have been used safely for decades. Why do my colleagues across the aisle, so-called limited-government people, suddenly want government to get in the way of the decisions that parents and their kids make together? Why do they want to stop children from getting medical care that has been proven to be safe and effective and helps them to live happily, helps them to live, just live? Why is the majority attacking vulnerable trans kids and raising the level of fear and hatred toward them? We should be protecting every family's right to make the decisions that they need to make for their child's well-being. Let me tell you something. What is happening on this floor and in this Congress around this issue is so incredibly dangerous. Trans kids are walking around with mace in their pockets because they are being attacked by people because the majority is insisting there is something to fear from them. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moore of Utah.) The time of the gentlewoman has expired.

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I will not stand for these kinds of attacks. The condescension that is coming from the other side--have you talked to your constituents? Do you really know? You don't really know what you are doing. Excuse me. We are here to represent our districts, and I still believe I am the Member that gets the most votes of any Member of Congress anywhere in the country. Don't tell me I don't know how to represent my district. What you are doing today, what this majority is doing today, is making life dangerous for kids. What the majority is doing today is getting in the way of families and parents and kids making the decisions that they need to make so that they can live, so that they don't commit suicide. What parent in this body or anywhere in this country wouldn't do anything for their children? What parent doesn't want their kids to live? This is dangerous. You are putting our kids at risk, and I will not stand for it. The American people won't stand for it. Vote ``no'' on this horrific and cruel bill.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this measure to rein in President Trump's unlawful boat strikes. These strikes and Trump's naval blockade represent appalling violations of international law and Congress' constitutional authority to authorize the use of military force. Drug trafficking is a serious offense. Communities across the United States have seen the devastating impact of addiction. But that does not give Donald Trump the right to go to war, to deploy military forces without congressional authority, or to kill anyone against the laws of war. Drug trafficking cases should be handled in a courtroom. Listen, the majority's entire argument that this was so serious it required action without congressional approval is completely destroyed when the President himself just pardoned the former Honduran President, who has been convicted by an American jury for a drug trafficking scheme that moved about 4\1/2\ billion doses of cocaine into the United States. Give me a break. It doesn't pass the laugh test. By the way, if Donald Trump were serious about addressing the opioid epidemic, he would not have cut Medicaid funding, and he would not have frozen $8 billion in funding for drug abuse and addiction. We have seen the disastrous impacts of attempted regime change in Latin American. The American people do not want another forever war. Vote ``yes'' on this resolution.

Ms. JAYAPAL

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4371. Kayla Hamilton's death was a senseless tragedy, and my heart goes out to her family and her loved ones. Every single one of us wants to do anything we can to make sure such a thing doesn't happen again, and I understand the impulse to do just anything to try to prevent this. Responsible governance means working together to create sensible solutions, not weaponizing tragedies to push through political priorities. Under the guise of ``preventing child trafficking,'' this bill would subject unaccompanied kids to abusive practices, like invasive bodily searches. It would make it harder to release them from detention, in spite of the protections that Congress established in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. That was a bill that was passed by both Chambers by unanimous consent. I wish that we were working on real reforms that are needed, especially as President Trump has set aside longstanding protections for unaccompanied children. Right now, these kids are spending more time in government custody than ever, amidst Trump's campaign of mass kidnappings and disappearances. An NIH study found that 75 to 80 percent of unaccompanied children are victims of human trafficking. Instead of treating them like victims of crime, this bill treats them like criminals. The majority claims that there are no security procedures in place for unaccompanied children, but that is simply not true. Since 2019, CBP has taken the fingerprints of unaccompanied children who are 14 and over. This policy that was started by the Trump administration was continued by the Biden administration. This means that at least 70 percent of the unaccompanied children who entered during the previous administration were subjected to fingerprinting and background checks. Additionally, according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, they have ``procedures in place to obtain background information on the unaccompanied alien child from the referring Federal agency to assess whether the child is a danger to self or others.'' They use this background information to determine where to place unaccompanied children. Furthermore, under the Flores settlement agreement, which the Republicans have been trying over and over again to overturn, children are allowed to be held in detention if they are convicted or charged with a criminal offense other than petty offenses, were adjudicated as a delinquent or are in delinquency proceedings, engaged in violent or disruptive conduct or threats, escaped from another facility or otherwise are a flight risk, or other compelling circumstances. It is disingenuous to pretend that unaccompanied children are all unvetted criminals, as this bill seems to do. Rather than fix some of the very real problems in the immigration system, this bill doubles down on cruelty, subjecting children to strip searches to look for ``gang tattoos,'' and it would force them into prison-like ``secure facilities'' if they are deemed to have a gang tattoo or be involved in a gang. Unfortunately, we have seen what this administration considers to be ``gang tattoos.'' They sent Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional soccer player who was tortured by the Maduro regime, to the notorious Salvadoran gulag, CECOT, saying his tattoo of the Real Madrid soccer logo meant that he was Tren de Aragua. The administration claimed that Neri Jose Alvarado Borges, a baker and asylum seeker, was a member of Tren de Aragua, due to his tattoo honoring someone with autism. They disappeared him to CECOT, too--of course, without any due process. It is also important to note that under current policy, adult immigrants detained by our government cannot be strip-searched without reasonable suspicion. This bill doesn't have any similar guardrails. It actually would treat kids in custody worse than adults. The bill also denies kids the ability to be placed with their parents if they are not U.S. citizens or green card holders. Preventing kids from being placed with their relatives will deny them the ability to go to loving homes and force them to languish in government custody for months. This will not help prevent child trafficking. It will help promote family separation. The bill also forces HHS to tell DHS the immigration status of anyone who lives in the home of a kid's sponsor, aiding President Trump's efforts to prioritize deporting moms and dads over murderers and deadly criminals. Since President Trump's inauguration, countless stories have emerged about ICE agents arresting parents and conducting intimidating ``wellness checks'' as a pretext for taking unaccompanied children and their guardians into custody. This bill is clearly aimed at supporting that project so that ICE can meet Stephen Miller's cruel 3,000 immigration arrests per day target. The Trump administration already treats unaccompanied children horribly, and this bill would only make things worse. I have personally gone and observed the docket at immigration court for kids. It is called the kids' docket. What I saw would horrify most Americans: kids as young as 5, one clinging to a stuffed animal, trying to represent themselves in a complicated legal proceeding in a language that they struggle to understand. Can you imagine a 5-year-old child who doesn't speak English trying to represent themselves in court, being instructed by a judge that you, as a child, have the right to call witnesses and cross-examine the government's witnesses, going up against a seasoned ICE trial attorney, a full-grown adult who has gone to law school, and trying to challenge what they say about you as a child? It sounds like an absurd nightmare, but this is reality for too many children. Our system already does a great disservice to these kids, and this bill would just make it worse. It is also laughable to claim that the Republican Party is focused on eradicating child trafficking. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, the agents in Homeland Security Investigations, who are normally tasked with going after child traffickers, have been detailed to Enforcement and Removal Operations. Instead of working on targeted takedowns of dangerous criminals, they are patrolling the streets to go after random people they think might be undocumented because they look Latino or speak Spanish. Thanks to the Republican Party, Homeland Security investigators worked approximately 33 percent fewer hours on child exploitation cases this year compared to last year. If we really want to protect kids, we need to address their number one cause of death: not immigrants, but guns. This week, following the anniversary of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook, we are mourning the deaths of innocents at two mass shooting events. Here in America, at Brown University, two people were murdered, and an entire campus was traumatized, including several students who had previously been in other school shootings. Despite the President and FBI claiming otherwise, that shooter is still at large, yet I don't see any effort in this body to take up the issue of sensible gun reforms. These mass shootings at schools across the country cannot be normalized. Let's finally address gun violence and get guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. We also witnessed a horrific anti-Semitic mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead, including a holocaust survivor who died saving his wife. The only reason the death toll wasn't higher is because Australia banned semiautomatic weapons and shooters could only fire one bullet at a time. Gun violence like this is very rare in Australia because it does have some of the strongest gun violence prevention laws in the world. Yet, still the government there is talking about taking further action to regulate guns and to take on anti-Semitism. That is what we should be doing if we care about protecting our kids. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, let me just remind the majority that the Office of Refugee Resettlement subjects all potential sponsors of unaccompanied kids to an assessment. That assessment includes numerous factors, including the sponsor's relationship to the child, the sponsor's motivation for seeking to care for the child, and any special vulnerabilities that the child has. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Rivas).

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez).

Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, let me just remind my colleagues on the other side that a medical examination is different from subjecting someone to a bodily examination looking for tattoos. A medical examination is also very different from saying: I see a tattoo on the forehead or some visible part of the neck. We don't allow adults to be strip-searched. We should not allow children to be strip-searched. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the very distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).