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[Pages H3347-H3348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SOLITO, SOLITA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, innocent children shouldn't pay the price
for the President's cruel immigration agenda. Steamrolling the facts
and the law, he has implemented policy after failed policy, playing
catch and release with his own cabinet.
As the President ratchets up his threats to close the border and cut
aid to Central America, thousands of migrants are fleeing their home
countries to seek refuge in the United States.
I recently met with the editors of the book ``Solito, Solita''--
Alone, Alone--a collection of oral histories that tells the stories of
young refugees in their own words. I rise today to read excerpts from
one of them, Gabriel Mendez.
His story begins in a poor, dangerous neighborhood in the capital of
Honduras. He says:
When I was just a boy of 7, my cousins raped me for a long
time--for a year. They raped me at the river, where they
collected water--and in my own home.
. . . Some of my fellow students who belonged to the maras
took weapons to school. I told the mareros that I didn't want
to bring weapons to school. I was afraid of them. They also
wanted me to bring drugs into school. I didn't want to do it,
so I left that school. . . . Now the maras were looking for
me--to kill me. They were asking my neighbors if they knew
me.
When Gabriel was 14, he convinced his mother, who was living in San
Francisco, to pay a coyote $6,000 to bring him to the United States.
Gabriel recounted the horrors he encountered along the way.
. . . they kept us locked in a house with eight other
people for a week. We kept moving. Many days passed without
eating or drinking water.
We were taken to the river, where there was a raft. We
crossed the river into the United States and moved to a safe
house. We spent 4 nights in the desert, including the night
of my 15th birthday.
. . . We came upon another group of people who'd been
traveling 2 days ahead of us. A young man, under 18, had
perished from exposure and lack of water and food. I got
stuck in some barbed wire in the desert. The coyote kicked
me, ripping my flesh to set me free.
. . . We got to Los Angeles on December 17, 2013. If we
didn't pay more money, they threatened to cut off our heads
and all kinds of horrible things. My mom said she'd give them
another $50, and they piled another 8 people in a van and
brought us to San Francisco.
In San Francisco, Gabriel feared for years he would be sent back to
Honduras. With the support of his mother and an attorney, he was
eventually granted asylum.
Now he is a student at the University of California at Berkeley, with
dreams of becoming a lawyer himself.
[[Page H3348]]
In an essay, he wrote:
My experience of childhood sexual and domestic abuse has
shaped my dreams to become a lawyer, to defend victims and
fight for children's rights around the world. My immigration
lawyer was a role model for me because she listened to my
experiences. I want to continue studying to help children
feel protected by the law . . .
If we want to understand the why behind mass migration, we need to
listen and learn from these stories.
As Members of Congress, it is our job to uplift these voices and use
them to fix a broken immigration system. We must insist on due process
for asylum seekers; we must insist on humane treatment of our families;
and we must insist on aid to Central America to stem the drivers of
migration.
Together, we can prevent more children from risking their lives.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
____________________
