By: Shelley Kofler, KERA NEWS
TEXAS–The candidates for lieutenant governor have, not surprisingly, staked out opposing positions on a proposal that would speed the return of migrant children to their Central American countries.
KERA’s Shelley Kofler reports that Republican Dan Patrick likes the proposal. Democrat Leticia Van De Putte worries that it could be a death sentence.
The proposal moving through Congress comes from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn a Republican and Rep. Henry Cuellar a Democrat from Laredo. It calls for the thousands of Central American children detained at the border to be treated the same as Mexican children. Within seven days of being apprehended, a judge would hear their plea to stay in the United States. The judge would then decide on deportation within 72 hours. Dan Patrick, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, cites the growing number of children crossing the border into Texas and says he supports the speedy hearing.
PATRICK: “this is not going to slow down until you send a message to the countries by sending the children back. There will always exceptions to a case or someone in great danger. The judge can decide. If this isn’t a wake call to everyone in Washington to pass legal immigration reform I don’t know what is”.
Patrick’s opponent, Democrat Leticia Van De Putte, says the requirement of a hearing within a week of detention could be a death sentence for some children. She says she talked with some of the children in the Brownsville Detention Center Wednesday.
DE PUTTE: “These children I have visited with first hand don’t remind me of economic immigrants. They are more asylees, refugees fleeing for their lives. What I worry about is a nine-year old child who is unaccompanied who has seven days to put together the documents that could determine whether that child lives or dies. I’m worried that may not be enough time.”
Patrick describes the situation with the young migrants as “chaos.” He says agents needed to prevent drugs and criminals from coming over the border are being diverted to address the unaccompanied children.
Van De Putte believes local law enforcement do need more resources, but she says she saw in Brownsville and McAllen a situation that’s stabilizing and has become more orderly in the past few weeks.
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