On June 16, 2014 Rep. Brooks of Alabama asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for three minutes to speak about the flood of illegal immigrants coming across the US border with Mexico:
“Mr. Speaker, America’s deficits have averaged a trillion dollars a year for 5 years. America’s total debt has blown through the $17 trillion mark, and our Comptroller General warns America that our financial path is unsustainable.
Last year, America’s debt service cost roughly $250 billion–which is five Federal transportation or 14 NASA programs we can’t afford because we have to pay debt service.
If not fixed, what do these deficits and debt mean?
On a micro level, America must learn from Detroit and Stockton, where bankruptcy courts battle over pension plan funding. On a macro level, we must learn from Greece and Spain, where unemployment is 26 and 28 percent worse than America at any time during the Great Depression. We must learn from Argentina and Venezuela, where inflation rates were 28 percent and 56 percent in one year, in 2012.
Closer to home, we must learn from Puerto Rico, the home for 3.5 million Americans. In February, Puerto Rico’s sovereign debt was downgraded to junk bond status, thereby damaging Puerto Rico’s economy for years, if not decades, to come.
This brings me to the taxpayer cost of today’s massive flood of illegal alien children surging across America.
According to Customs and Border Protection data, in fiscal year 2012, 24,000 illegal alien children surged across our border. That surge increased by 59 percent, to 39,000 illegal alien children in FY 2013. That surge increased by another 58,000 illegal alien children so far this fiscal year, with an estimated total of 90,000 crossing our borders for all of fiscal year 2014–a startling 132 percent increase.
How should America fix this problem?
First, the Obama administration must stop enticing illegal alien children to America with promises of amnesty and money. America cannot give free food, free clothing, free shelter, free health care, free transportation, free entertainment, and billions of dollars a year in fraudulent tax refunds to illegal aliens and then wonder why we have an illegal alien crisis.
Second, illegal alien children from Central America and Mexico must be treated equally–prompt returns to parents and homes without costly and time-consuming deportation hearings. All contrary laws must be repealed or amended.
Third, America must immediately fly illegal alien children home by the least expensive means possible. It costs as little as $258 at cheapflightnow.com to fly from Houston to Managua, Nicaragua. United Airlines flies from San Antonio to Guatemala City for as little as $363 and to San Salvador, El Salvador, for as little as $292.
At roughly $300 a pop, it costs less than $20 million to fly 60,000 illegal alien children home. That is everyone so far this fiscal year. If America used C-5 military aircraft and counted flight time as pilot training time, the cost is even less.
Given America’s perilous financial condition, the illegal alien children surge issue must be considered in the context of America’s debt threat that risks a debilitating American insolvency and bankruptcy.
President Obama demands $3.7 billion to spend in just the next few months on a policy that does not solve the illegal alien children problem. Think about that. The President proposes spending $3.7 billion to not solve the problem. Yet spending $20 million wisely does solve the problem.
Mr. Speaker, this is a no-brainer. It is financially irresponsible–no, financial insanity–to spend $3.7 billion America does not have, must borrow to get, and cannot afford to pay back when we can spend $20 million and get better results and better border security”, said d Brooks.
Source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov/