immigration. and i agree with you on that. and i don't believe all those children qualify for immigration protection. but some do, and we should give them that. they're fleeing violence, rape, and human trafficking. the distinguished senior senator from california worked on this law. t the children, fleeing extreme violence should be interviewed by child welfare specialists, and have a opportunity to tell their story to a judge who can

identify them as victims of violence, or persecution. i'm willing to help. i know, two or three hours before the vice president arrived to guatemala, you were planning to announce money -- we may want to look a little bit further than that. but i can assure you that i will fight tooth and nail, changes in the trafficking victims protection act. we have to do the right thing. we can and should work with you. we will help you. but, when you have an 8 or 9-year-old girl being raped by gangs sending her up here. or being sent by her parents to

escape that kind of violence, i'm not sure americans all really feel that we should immediately send them back. we routinely ask these other countries to support refugees fleeing violence, let's do it ourselves. and look for the funding in a long-range plan. in the meantime, i hope the body will pass an immigration law. anybody want to respond? >> i do. i have a letter written by a number of senators, including senators on this committee. and there's a sentence in the second paragraph that i agree with. we strongly believe that in responding to this crisis, we

must not set aside our fundamental commitments as a nation. that's the bedrock of my public service. dealing with this or responding to a terrorist attack, we should not jettison the law or bend it. and it's at times like this, when adherence to our laws, in my view, is very important. >> i'm very familiar with that letter, as you know. thank you. >> senator? >> thank you, madam chair, and thank you all for being here. i'll be honest with you, i feel like you're going to have a lot of problems with the proposal you're giving us because it's not balanced. there's been concern over the

cartels advertising falsely, if you get here you're going to get amnesty, those kinds of things, and the ability to administratively deal with the people here. you mentioned you had, i guess, 2,000 people that you sent back last year. how many administrative judges did you have to do that? >> we have 243 judges. >> how many additionally are you asking for? >> an additional 25 judge teams that could take us up to about 40 with other teams. >> 270? 283. so, a 273,000 backlog?

>> and we're in the process of hiring through fiscal year 2014 appropriations -- >> well, if you multiplied your judges by ten, you'd still be in trouble. >> there's no question, there are a large number of cases that going to be lasting for a long time. >> what about the people that have been in detention already? are we going to do the new people first? what's the -- >> well, the people in retainer right now, they're our priority. what we're doing, adding the recent border crossing cases to that priority.

th th >> that doesn't make sense to me, increasing by 40 administrative judges, working through the backlog plus the additions we're talking about are coming, if we don't develop a plan. and how long are the kids going to be out there? >> well, part of the reasons we need the money and soon is because permanent facileliitiese much cheaper. permanent facilities, a bed can cost between $250 up to $1,000. we can make a plan, and go into grant agreements with people, that affords us to do this in a

much more cost-effective fashion. right now, with the department of defense, we had 120 days we renewed that for 120 days. >> how do you educate them? >> through guarantees on the facilities. these are often religious organizations that do child welfare services. licensed organizations that enter into grant agreements and agree to provide the care. >> what i would like is, again, not pie in the sky. when you look at it logically, there's no way we can adjudicate these people. and i'm also concerned about how they're being housed. i hope it's not pie in the sky

like the adjudication process is. and it sounds like we're going to be keeping some people for a long time. as far as education, health care, i've got to see it on paper, so we truly can provide the money it's going to take. but the biggest deterrent is, if they come to this country, they're going to be sent back. >> the children in our care in 2011, it was about 75 days that it took for placement with a sponsor that we believed was safe, and appropriate. and several weeks ago, we started a pilot for the group of children we feel we can place

most quickly. and the variables are about cost, number one, the amount of children coming across the border. number two, the amount and type of beds, what we have to pay for them. and number three, the speed in which we can appropriately place. >> and quickly, you don't have any props with congressmen showing up and looking at facilities in their districts or their states unannounced? >> with regard to the question of visiting the facilities, we welcome members of congress to visit our facilities. and i speak on behalf of my colleagues, but we need to be

able to handle our guests when we come, providing the information they need, and protecting the children. so, the one thing we do ask, we do ask there is scheduling. right now, since we've opened the temporary facilities, there have been visits from elected officials. we want to schedule them as quickly as we can. and we want to be able to manage the work of the people on the ground. we welcome it, and we want to make sure that we respect the children as well as respecting the border agents. we're sorry if there were misunderstandings. let me be clear, we welcome members to come.

>> i couldn't say it any better. >> we're now going to turn to senator feinstein. but i want to respond to senator bozeman. i want to point out, where we are here, which is my senator shelby and i are passionate about an order. this is supplemental to fiscal '14 appropriations. in ord in other words, to get us to october 2014. >> some would be paid out in '15, and it would be above the current levels in terms of what the president has proposed. >> but isn't that like, if you

do a contract with the catholic charities or the baptist charities -- >> we need to be able to, if we enter a grant agreement with someone, two weeks before october 1st, we have to take the beds down, about 1,600 beds -- >> remember this, we have to pass our appropriations for fiscal '15. if you want more immigration judges, we need to pass the corresponding bill. that's where the judges are. and anybody that has other amendments, let us alone. let us get our bills done. we're ready to move on homeland

security. foreign ops, ready to go. we have the infrastructure for fiscal '15. let us come to the floor. senator feinstein. >> thank you. i want you to know i'm fully in support of this supplemental. i would like our distinguished heads and secretaries to know, i started this legislatively back in 2002. i was home, i turned on the tv, and saw a 15-year-old chinese youngster shackled, handcuffed, tears rolling down her face in front of a judge. in interpreter, no counselor, she was one of the survivors

from a container of chinese that came to this country. one of the very few. and i believe her parents died coming across the ocean. and i thought at the time, i'm going to take a look at the law and see what we can do. so, i introduced this unaccompanied minor bill. and the purpose is pretty much as secretary johnson has elucidated. unaccompanied minors traveling alone, they would have a process that is different. transferred to hhs, and would have help, with pro bono counsel, an advocate, if we can

bring them back to their country, or whether there was a place for them. the numbers at that time was about 5,000. now, we have 60,000. i want to thank you both. i've had my staff go to all the facilities starting up in california and arizona. and they come and tell me that they are really well-run. and that people are moving quickly, alertly, whether it's customs, border patrol, i.c.e., any other staff. i'm grateful for that. you've moved, secretary johnson, you are a man of your word, and i find you a very impressive secretary of homeland security. madam chair, i've known you. but it's clear from your

discourse today, you know what you're doing. from 2002, we were not able to move the bill through. and we worked with large numbers of groups. church groups, other groups. and i think the bill grew somewhat. and it was signed by president bush in 2008. to secretary johnson, who said he thought he might need added discretion, i would like to refer you to section 235 b-3, which says the following. except in the case of exceptional circumstances, any department or agency of the federal government that has an u u unaccompanied child in custody,

shall send it to hhs within 72 hours. what this does is trigger a number of other provisions. but what i would say is, the exception is the case of exceptional circumstances. i would suggest that you sit down and go through the exceptional circumstances. and how the process might be modified to give you more time. i agree very much with what you said, secretary johnson, about the values of this country. and i think if people see the children, if they know the growth of crime, and particularly in honduras, which

today, the reportedly the murder capital of the world. the fear that people have. i don't think a mother in this country necessarily acts the same way as a mother in hondu s honduras, guatemala, or any other place. because their options are so limited. so, i hope this exception is enough to give you want you need, mr. secretary, in terms of added time. and from 5,000 to 60,000, i really offer to work with you. i hope the bill does not need amending. because it took six years to get where we are. but i thank you for your good work, and i wanted an opportunity to say that. thank you, madam chairman.

>> excellent. senator? >> thank you. and thank you each for your testimony here today. i have to tell you, i have been looking at the handout that senator collins had presented in terms of the numbers that we have seen over the years. since 2009. and the very dramatic rise, beginning in 2012. and i come back to the fact as the chairman has noted that we are here today presenting this as an emergency supplemental. this is a humanitarian crisis, and i think it pulls at the heart strings of all of us.

these are not numbers, these are lives and these are children's lives. i find it very troubling we areo get our hands around this and we've seen these numbers grow from 24,000 in 2012 to 38,000 in 2013 to 52,000 in 2014 and now 57,000. and so i'm frustrated and i'm concerned as i'm sure that all of you are but i just can't understand why we have not had you before us prior to this time. why it is now part of an emergency supplemental request and to hear the testimony from both secretaries about the very immediate need to act before

august or the consequences in terms of how these children will be cared for when they're here in this country. are quite dire, as you have stated. so secretary johnson, you have said that doing nothing is not an option and you outlined some things. some additional detention facilities being built. but it's not translating in terms of what we're skiing so the proposal is that we build out more permanent detention facilities. more permanent because those are

less expensive. i want to believe you when you all say we need to stem the tide. we all want to stem the tide. that's what we're trying to drill down on. how do we reduce these numbers? how do we reduce these bar charts? that are real-life children? the queer successful we have places on the board that we can gear up. and if you do what you're hoping and we fund what you're hoping for, we have in place facilities that would seemingly no longer be necessary if we have done what we all hoped we would do before this became a crisis. so i'm trying to reconcile what

is being asked for here in this emergency supplemental. and as much as i can lament about we shouldn't be where we are, we are where we are and that's a shame. but i guess my question to you is -- do we truly understand what the strategy and the plan is going forward beyond august? we haven't seen legislation from the administration where we're making the assumption that the numbers are going to continue to grow and that's why we're going to need the request that you have within your budget. but if we're doing what we're all talking about doing which is to reduce the times and to have a process that is better

expedited, is this the right answer? >> i think there are two things. one is, at the beginning of your comments with regard to the numbers, the chart that senator collins handed out, i think an important thing we need to distinguish is that it includes the mexican numbers. because there's a different process and procedure for the mexican numbers the vast majority of those never come. >> but in fairness knows mexico numbers are actually going down. >> right. if we take the numbers out and look at the numbers that we've received as unaccompanied children in 2011 to 2013, 6500 to 13,600. that's 108% increase. the increase from '12 to '13 was to 25,000. that's an 81% increase. if you take, let's say we all

bought at a might be a minimum of 90% and we're working off a higher base. any time you say there's 100% increase off of 24,000, you're estimating something big. what this congress and the administration funded in the f yooimpblt ch 14 appropriations was enough money for 54,000. the transfer, secretarial transfer that the secretary before me did was 44 million. that got us to a place where we would have had 60,000. last year we had about 25,000. we had planned for 60,000. that was a worst case scenario. that was far greater than the increases we had seen in percentage terms off of a larger base. what we're seeing now is numbers as has been reflected in everyone's comments, that are far beyond. so the planning element, i think, in terms of the question of why weir here, with regard to your second question, which i think is a very fair one, it is related to how we make sure we stay in front. we're extremely hopeful that you

are correct. that the plan we're putting in place will not lead to the numbers -- >> we need more than a hope for a policy. >> and part of what we asked for in the supplemental is the ability to have transfer authority. if the needs aren't there and we are trying to plan ahead so we don't have the backup at the border, and in the needs are not there, we're hhs as the secretary mentioned in his opening comments, we're willing and happy to transfer any funds that are not needed to the other departments to increase the transfer would occur to any of the departments, most likely, to dhs but could occur to any and we think that's an important part of trying to balance the planning ahead with what you're rightfully pointing to. we need these numbers to come down. and so we're trying to balance that need for what you said in your earlier comments. you don't plan for the worst making sure that we do that at the same time, created a space for the success we hope we have.

>> okay thank you very much, madam chairwoman. ambassador, in your remarks you said that part of the strategy is to, quote, attack criminal gang structures. that implies someone is responsible to coordinate that effort. that it would also imply, i think, intelligence operations and i will prosecutions. so can you give us sort of the outline of the plan? who is in charge? and what intelligence assets you need and are they a reflected in the budget or where athey coming from? >> in the supplemental request you asked for $100 million for security. which would augment activities we're already undertaking under the central american security initiative. some of that has to do with law enforcement capacity training and community policing in order to address the structure of

gangs in communities. and to work in communities to find alternative to gangs, especially for at-risk youth. there's no specific money aimed at intelligence activities related to gangs. and most of the work around immigration studies, around immigration security related issues would be done by i.c.e. and by our operations here. but we have intelligence activities that are focusing on that. i can not discuss this in this environment. but most of the activities focused on breaking down the smuggling networks and working with the local police and the local authorities, would fall within the range of homeland security. we are, however, work through the judiciaries and toe enhance it and to imtheir ability to prosecute these cases. >> secretary johnson, if homeland security has the

responsibility for identifying the smuggling rings and disrupting those rings, do you have the resources to do that? it seems to me that what the ambassador is saying is there's money to go in and try to do gang activity as much as we do in major urban centers in the united states, et cetera, which is important. but these children are getting here because it's a business. these are pretty hard-nosed people who are we've got to take a more put them out of business to be blunt. and does this plan or these funds or your efforts at homeland security specifically go after these people? >> part of our request will go to not only working with the central american governments on the law enforcement effort there but our own hsi, doj efforts. which is something we've already begun in the month of may. we made 163 arrests of those

attached to smuggling organizations and i'm actively working with doj right now to get at the money flow, the intradiction of money from the united states and senator, to simply underscore your point, i want to read from, briefly, from my operation's report that i got this morning which is unclassified. hsi, and special agents reported the rescue of a honduran national who was reportedly held against her will and threatened by human smugglers. and the arrested two citizens of mexico for violating the alien smuggling statute and the smugglers demanded $2,000 for the release of the victim and the smugglers stated to the rel five they didn't pay the money they would decapitate the victim or sell her to a brothal. those are the groups we're dealing with. it's crucial to not only return

people but to get at these smuggling organizations and i think we can and we should. >> in terms of priority that has to be at the same level as the humanitarian treatment of these children. and here's the final question i'll raise. in some respects these are unavoidab unavoidable. what we're talking about is creating a standard which we're maintaining these young, people. we can't, for many reasons, some are basic values as a nation, allow, you know, afacility suitable for 12 children to be inhabited by 100 children. these -- secretary johnson, i think what happens then, if we don't do in you're going to have to find some monies from tsa, from cybersecurity efforts, from a host of the different functions because, again, we have a problem now.

we'll have a much greater problem if we're seen as basically, you know, mistreating these children who are in the custody of the united states. is that fair? >> senator, that's a very fair statement, yes, sir. >> thank you. >> madam secretary, if one of these children are placed with the relative in the united states, do we check the legal status of the relative? >> that's not part in terms of the legal status with regard to immigration status that's not something we do with regard to the legal status that's relevant to what we do is the safety of the child and there's a number of conditions that were guided with regard to that. >> so are we, in fact, turning children over to people who are here illegally? >> we do not know the answer to that question. but we can assume -- >> i think we should know the answer to that because the

likelihood showing up for a hearing is zero if the person who is taking care of them is illegal, i doubt if they're going to bring them to deportation hearing or any other kind of hearing. so i'd like to see that changed in our law. is this problem a about of failure to pass the immigration reform or is it something else? >> senator graham, if i may, to your prior question, also, before i answer this one, i do not think that removal of the parent who probably has been in the interior for years is the answer to dealing with this current situation. >> mr. secretary, it's all about signals here. you're right. we're going to tell people back in the countries, stop this and the best way to stop this is to send the kids back. i don't think you're -- you're

reinforcing another bad problem when you don't check the legal status of the person, there's zero hope they're ever going to get into the legal system because the person yao turned the child over to is illegal themselves and you're just compounding the problem. i'm pretty far out there on reforming immigration but you're reinforcing bad behavior. to my point, is this problem a result of the failure to pass illegal immigration reform or is it something else? >> this has nothing to do with immigration reform? >> the reality of how we treat these kids pursuant to the 2008 law -- >> which has nothing to do with immigration reform. >> and the misinformation that's being put out there by the smuggling organizations about the current state of legal -- >> i agree with you with all three and it has zero to do with -- >> but senator, if i may -- >> i want to pass immigration

reform but i want to stop that narrative that if we pass some law we wouldn't have this problem. this is a result of believer that if you can get here you can stay. i don't know what's driving this. senator made a good point. a kid gets a better deal then anybody else. it goes back to the 2012 change by the president but there's no use debating that. let's go forward. knowing what we know today, knowing what we know today the problem we have in front of us would we write the 2008 law the way we the? >> senator, i can't -- >> clearly we wouldn't. senator feinstein is one of the

world's best senators and nicest people but she addressed wraas real problem. she's talking about a. and we're dealing with b.? 2008 law never envisioned the problem. it envisioned the chinese people and others that have been sexually exploited. i understand not wants to throw somebody back to the hell they came from but we're now being overrun by folks. this hell to get here and if you gae agree, i agree with yao to stop it, you got to let somebody down there know stop doing it. if we don't change the 2008 law, we're never going to get a handle on this problem because the 2008 law had nothing to do with this problem. so i think we should adjust our laws to meet the needs in front of us so i'm very disappointed to hear that the administration believes, after everything we've been dealing with for the last two years, there's no reason to change the law. i just find almost impossible to understand.

but let's get to this point about mexico. the difference between mexico and these three countries substantively different. the time to get somebody back to mexico is because it's contiguous is different. is that correct? >> yes. plus we have the legal authority to offer an uncompanied compiled voluntary return to mexico. >> so there's a jeanning process when you turn somebody to mexico we don't just throw them over the border we look to see if they apply for refugee or asylum status? >> that's true. >> so i think you're on to something trying to create similar conditions for these countrieslike mexico. in that regard i think you're pursuing a good solution. b i think you are -- >> we have to change this law and we're nuts if we don't and as senator reed said we're nuts if we don't go after these groups. we need to get the mexicantion and every other group, form a

task force and hunt these guys down and put them in jail. it should be like a military jail. a humanitarian threat that i haven't seen in a long time and i think our response and our sense of urgency is woe fringe inadequate. it's not just a money problem. it's a will problem. stronger than those who are abusing the law and, using these children. thank you. >> let me thank my colleague senator durbin for letting me go ahead of him. i very much appreciate that. i want to follow up on what senator graham said about what's happening in those three

countries in central america. and i wonder, if you could talk a little bit about what's changed in the last three years or two yourself in those countries to encourage this influx of children and families and, also, whether we're seeing that same kind of influx into other neighboring countries from honduras, guatemala and el salvad salvador? >> we've not seen the same flowing from other central american yeses. costa ree kwa nicaragua and el salvad salvador. >> maybe i wasn't clear in my

question. i appreciate that. what i'm asking is, are we seeing people from those three countries going into neighboring countries close to them at the same rate or in similar rates? >> we are seeing that. as i noted in the testimony, the u.n. high commission on refugees notes that asylum requests in surrounding countries are up 400%. and what i noted is it's not obviously at the same rate or same number but, in fact, the number are quite small in comparison but they're much, much higher than historically, they have been and that indicates that there are groups of children who are fleeing. and when they determine that they can not flee the united states, either because they don't have the money or not prepared to take the risks but they must flee, they go to the nearest place possible. so from our point of view, although the vast majority of these children are moving toward the united states, this is a regional problem and for that reason it needs to be addressed regionally. and as senator landry noted, is a problem related to children

and what happens to children when they're caught in environments in which the breakdown of state authority and the presence of gangs in communities and controlling the communities puts these children at risk. now, in terms of what's happened over the last three years, it's going to take socialologists a long time to dig through that data. but i think what's evident is, as mexico has become more successful in his activities with the merit initiative and as colombia has become more effective in attacking the farc and changing the nature of drug production and trafficking out of colombia, the burden has fallen largely in central america and it's largely fallen in the three countries that offer easy jumping-off point into mexico and into the drug trafficking routes that lead to the united states. but in the process of mexican

cartels moving into the honduras and guatemala and looking for ways to facilitate the movement of drugs through the region, the -- they've obviously built relationships with gangs. and this has provided gangs with levels of wealth and weapons and communications equipment historically they have not had and has allowed them to take over and control parts of communities which puts at risk, teenagers. and what we're seeing in the groups that are leaving these three countries and moving northward is that 75% of them are between the ages of 14 and 17. which means that they are in recruitment age. both males and females. >> thank you. i'm going to cut you off that the point. i'm sorry to do that but i have a question for secretary burrwell that i would like to have answered. one of the things that i'm

hearing from organizations in new hampshire is concern about the movement of money out of the office of refugee resettlement. and concern that once, if this appropriation goes through, that that money might not be replaced and that the services that are offered through that office might not be available. that's a concern that we're hearing about refugees in new hampshire. can you speak to that? >> because we actually take the concerns that it sounds like folks at home are articulating. that's why we actually asked for the back fill for the $94 million. i think you know we sent reprogramming up to the hill and we've started in on that reprogramming. those funds that we've taken out of the office of refugee resettlements you have a sense of what those funds do, a number of those funds go to schools that are impacted by high refugee populations. a number of those funds go,

actually, to affect haitian and cuban refugees that affects florida disproportionately and the third category of that money is money that's sometimes going to states to help where there are disproportionate numbers of refugees and what is our other refugee program. we had to make choices in order to continue on a path of making sure we can move children from the border. and from vhs to hhs. they were difficult choices. and choices that we hope that in the supplemental can be taken care of. >> thank you. and thank you all very much for your efforts to address this crisis. thank you, madam chair. >> senator durbin. >> thank you, madam chair. each year under presidents republican and democrat, the united states of america issues a report card on human rights to the world. where we grade other nations.

as to their record on human rights. that's pretty bold of us, isn't it? to hold ourselves out in judgment of other nations? and one of the things we ask is how those nations treat refugees and children. we don't have a very long record when it comes to refugees in this country. primarily because of location. haitians, cubans, we've had some but certainly, when you look at the state of the world, with 2.3 million refugees coming out of syria and fewer than 200 coming to the united states, we are kind of on the periphery of this issue until now. now, we get to face it. our backyard. our border. i just got a report about two children. it came from young center for immigrant children's rights at the university of chicago law school.

samuel and emily are siblings. amazingly, ages 3 and 6. 3 and 6 years old. they got here from honduras. i don't know how. when they initially arrived in the united states, it was very quiet and they didn't open up. they were clearly victims of trauma. after two months of care and custody of these 3 and 6-year-old children by hhs, emily revealed that both children had been raped by members of a local drug cartel. i think about those children when i think about this debate. are they the exception? i pray they are. but i'm afraid there are many more with similar stories. so mr. secretary, secretary johnson, i think you're a good person. i even have evidence you're a good father because i got to meet your son and i know you're a good lawyer. when you ask for added

discretion, so that we can voluntarily deport some of these children, i think about these two. where i grew up, in down state illinois, you wouldn't ep enter a courtroom with a 3 or 6-year-old without someone standing next to them, representing them, explaining to them, trying to speak up for their rights. and i worry about what we're asking for here. and here's why i worry. let's get down to dollars. there's a request for $15 million in this multibillion dollar appropriation for direct legal representation. to contract with lawyers to represent approximately 10,000 children, 10,000 children in immigration proceedings. we're dealing with 50 to 90,000 children. and it strikes me that this number is grossly inadequate. to make sure these children have someone standing next to them to

protect them. maybe to explain this to them. that's the first thing that crosses my mind. the second thing is, who are we returning them to? honduras, the murder capital of the world? where it is not safe to even have your children outside of your home? where garbage is piled in the street so they can go through it and maybe, find something to eat because that's all they've got? what kind of social service agencies are we referring these kids to when we return them to honduras? beds. i get it. i want they kids to be in the safest, cleanest place possible. i couldn't live with it any other way. but as i understand it, 85% of these children are reunited with family, 55% with parents. 30% with relatives. so when we're talking about beds, it sounds like for the most part, at least 85% of it, it's for temporary beds.

i assume that's what we're discussing. finally, before i asked you to comment on this, i authored the dream act. i'm proud of it. we passed it in the house and senate and we can't beat the republican filibuster in the senate except the comprehensive of immigration bill. i asked the president, my friend, to sign and i'm proud that he did and i'm not going to stand here and let people blame those two acts on what we're facinging today because during the same period of time there was a 700% increase in children from those three countries, to neighboring countries not the united states. it had nothing to do, as you said, mr. secretary, daka which set a 2007 target, couldn't come any later than that. so i'd appreciate if you could respond to this in the time remaining. >> senator, the only thing i'll say is a request for discretion,

as long as i'm secretary, means a request for the ability to do the right thing. that's how i see it. i've met with enough of these kids now, including a 15-year-old two weeks ago, who was three months pregnant, to have a real sense for what these kids go through. we've heard about before they leave central america, some of these kids' parent also give them birth control in case they're raped along the way. and so whatever we do, whatever discretion i'm given to address this situation, will be the discretion to do what i believe is the right thing. for the country and for these kids. >> there's not enough money being requested to provide the kind of representation and advocacy to protect these kids. it's not even close. 10,000 out of 90,000? and i think that's secretary

burrwell's world. >> there are different portions in terms of sometimes it's provided by justice and sometimes by dhs. we do provide the counsel that i jooished in the initial stages and then for the extreme circumstances such as that that you described, hhs does provide council and we try to connect with pro bono counsel. you're right we don't have the resources to get council for all the children that passion through and go to sponsors but there are a group that we do that for. >> senator harkin. >> snthank you, madam chair. i want to associate myself with everything senator zur bin just said. he hit the nail on the head. i want to thank all of you for the work that you do. as we hear more and more about

the situation of these young people coming across the border, you know what my ears are hearing? round them up and ship them back. it sounds like we're dealing with cattle. some kind of livestock. round them up and ship them back. senator murkowski had it right. this is a humanitarian crisis. again, senator durbin talked about a couple of cases. i suggest anybody wants to know this, read enrique's journey. it's a great book. read it. now i have a problem with the administration. this administration. on the one hand they say we want to send kids back as soon as possible. then they turn around and say, well, but these kids are escaping violence and drugs and sexual abuse and gangs. how do you reconcile those two? ship them back as soon as

possible? and they're escaping the violence and drugs? that doesn't sound to me like those two statements are compatible. how they exist side-by-side. the focus, our focus had to be simply, i'm making sure these kids are, first, safe and that they're fed. they're clothed and that they're shelter and that they get not only good health services but mental health services and, under the law, that they have every meaningful -- that's the key word -- "meaningful" opportunity to apply for asylum. are we a country of laws? that's what the law says. there are some that want to modify this law and u hear voices from this -- this administration, wants to modify the law. secretary johnson, i have no doubt you're a good and decent and honorable person and i think you do a great job but you want

president flexibility. there's danger in flexibility. not just because of you but everybody that works under you, and the border patrol. a lot of these kids that come over there and they see someone in uniform, it's a flash back of what they just came from where the people in uniform may have been beating them up. and on the side of the drug lords. are they going to open up about who they are and what they are? that's why we have a law that says you got to transfer them in 72 hours to hhs. hhs is supposed to provide all of these things for these kids, shelter, clothing. meaningful council. people that stand alongside of them so that they can tell their story. so they can apply, meaningfully, for asylum. you can't do that with the border patrol. i'm sorry, you can't do it.

you can't do it as somebody comes across the border. they need to be taken in. as i said, and given these protections under our laws. under international law. under international law. some people want to modify the law to let dhs ship them back right away. i hear this from the administration. and you may say, secretary johnson, that you're going to be very careful on this. that's why we have laws. that's why we set it up this way i don't know who's coming after you and i don't know how long you'll be there and i don't know how many people work underneath you and how good they are. they may have in their head, round them up and ship them back. i rely upon health and human services to make sure these kids are protected and that they have their full legal rights in this country. they're supposed to be

transferred in 72 hours and now it's, what, six or seven days quarterba, before they get transferred? and now hhs don't have the wherewithal to do it. to take care of these kids. the mental health providers. the social workers. child advocates who can look after not the -- rounding them up and shipping them back, but the best interest of the child when they arrive here and protecting their rights under u.s. and international law. so, we have a situation where i'm sorry, i have to disagree with this administration. this administration should be saying, we should follow the law. these kids need to be protected. they need to have hhs protect them. and care for them and give them every meaningful right to apply for asylum. now, the problem is, hhs doesn't have the money to do it.

they should do it but they don't have the money to do that. that's what this supplemental is about. it's to allow hhs to follow along which they aren't right now. but they can't. they can't follow along because they don't have the money to do it. they can't transfer them in 72 hours, my fellow senators, because they don't have the money to do it. so that's why this supplemental, madam chair, as you said, is so critical. we can't hold ourselves up as a paradigm of human rights and then say round them up and shake-up the-- and ship them ba. should they say that to the syrians that are escape something round them up and ship them back? we're better than that. i have to disbrae with my friend

from south carolina. we're not being overrun by these kids. we're a country of 300 million people. we're talking about, what, 50,000, 90,000 at the most? that's overrunning america? nonsense. we can deal with this. now, let anyone think, we got to work with those other countries. we have to do things in those other countries. it's a complex issue. as some of you have state. not going to be solved overnight. it's not going to be sofld with a few military people. but in the meantime, the single, most important thing is to take care of these kids. to make sure they're save, they're house and shelter and clothes and fed and they have legal protections and they can apply for asylum. meaningfully, not with the border patrol. not as soon as they come across the border.

i read your testimony. but after they've had due process. and where hhs can take them in and provide the kind of shelter and support that they need. after that, we can talk about returning them. until they've had adequate advo their side and let them know what their legal rights are in this country -- i hate to be so emotional about it. when i hear this coming from the administration, ship them back, do it as soon as possible. but they're in fleeing violence and drugs and gangs. now, they're fleeing violence and drugs and gangs and all kinds of things like that, yes. >> i disagree with my 23re7bd from south carolina. reinforcing bad habits with bad habits. i never considered a bad habit

for any human being to leave a bad situation where they're being killed, beat up, sexually violated, denied their basic human rights. denied the opportunity to live a live and they want to seek it some place else? and that's not a bad habit. that's in the human spirit. that i thought we'd like to extoll in this country. so i guess i've run out of time and i've used up my time. so therefore, i guess i don't have a question. but i hope i made my point. >> senator, you can also submit questions for the record. thank you for your statement. >> senator shelby? >> mr. secretary, i've been told that there's currently 162,000 children at the homeland security ranch. is that number about right or

wrong? in other words, in this country, that have come in over the years that still pending? >> i see. i don't know whether that number is accurate. >> can you furnish the number for the record, check it out? >> yes. >> it's a lot of children, isn't it? >> 162,000 people, in my book, is a lot of people. keep in mind of that population, assuming that number is accurate, of that population, a lot of them may have turned 18 by now. >> 18. and you've only sent home, what, an average is it 1800, period, or about 1800 a year. >> about 1800 a year. >> that you adjudicate and sent home? >> yae. up until this recent situation, yes. >> what if, suppose at the rate they're going, 52,000 people,

children, were detained, came in and were apprehended as you call it, in the country, if this number continues to grow, there could be hundreds of thousands of children coming here, could it not? >> which is -- yes, which is why we believe we fwhoobelieve we no add resources to the process of repatriation and return for uac's while preserving the ability to make a claim for humanitarian relief. >> along the border with texas, rio grande, mainly, area, do they just walk across the border? is the border unprotected? is it no fence there? anything? how do they do? or do they just come up and say, take me into custody? whatever. >> the rio grande valley sector is bordered by the rio grande

river. and it's a windy river that -- >> 360 miles long or something? >> and they swim across. they walk across. and it's -- if you look at a map that the border patrol will show you it's all tending to concentrate in one particular area. >> so even if we gave the money that's been requested here, $3.7 million, it doesn't solve the problem in any way? it helps you deal with the current problem but it doesn't solve the problem, does it? >> it will -- well, in my judgment it will definitely stem the tide if we provide this funding. >> of the people senator graham asked the question, and i didn't hear a clear answer to it. maybe you don't know. but these children are most of them that are trying to come to

this country, do they have parents or uncles or aunts in this country already? legal or illegal? do you know? >> yes. when we place the children, the majority of the children are placed with relatives. >> so they know who their relatives are? where they are and so forth? >> the children, in some cases know. in other cases, as part of the hhs process, we learn and make that determination through questions and an interview process in terms of trying to understand the child. >> now, if people are here legally, they come as immigrants legally, and they're children are where they came from, the country of origin, can't they go through the legal process and brng their children to this country in the legal process for that? >> i would defer to my colleague for justice on the process. >> it depends on the current

studies if they're here illegally, senator. >> if they're here legally and they wanted to bring their children that are, si, in central america somewhere. >> there is one category of the lawful permanent residence who can petition for they're family members. that would be the only category that is currently available, i believe, for them to bring their relatives over. >> well, i know money is a humanitarian problem but it's an immigration problem, a big one, for this country. thank you, madam chair. >> that congress clouds the number of senator that this wanted to ask questions. i think in has been an excellent hearing. the fact that 25 senators came from this committee to participate and the other five had commitments for which they'll submit questions. we also want to thank the

witnesses for their straight-forward, candid commentary but also, for the work that they do every day. in addition to dealing with this situation, they also have other pretty significant responsibilities and we know that they're working 36 hour days and ten-day work weeks. and i think it's pretty impressive. and, also, to the men and women who work under those agencies, it's pretty impressive. when you meet the border patrol agents and, also, the response of our particularly our vocal faith-based organizations. to me it was very heartening and touching to see the way the baptist child welfare agency was running the facility. it was a-plus in terms of any standard of child welfare. but what was particularly interesting to me was the

charities in oklahoma had come to lackland to work with the baptists with to learn what was the most effective way to deal with this. so i think we're doing all right. the question is -- what does it really -- what are we going to do? the urgent supplemental that meets the needs of today. every single colleague has said we need to look at the long-range implications of this. some talk about a more military intervention strategy. some talk about changing the law on refugees. these are not necessarily my personal direction, because when you're talking to the children you find out why would a mother making minimum wage somewhere, scrape together $3,000? you can imagine what it took to save that money, to send it to essentially, a scoundrel, to bring her daughter or her son

across the border. and to know the h treacherous, dangerous journey that they're going to do? it will only risk that. the dangers is so severe. we all heard these stories that are so we don't even want to repeat some of them in public. because of their. -- it's because in guatemala, honduras and el salvador, the violence is so bad that the violence of the journey, the violence of the journey is less. and the risk that they will take. and then, to say we're going to send them back, send them back to what? the gang that tried to recruit a little girl and threatened the family? if the two girls, two young girls didn't join the gang, they would be killed?

mute la mutilated or turned into the something called "queens." i won't even talk about what that means. i couldn't bring myself to describe it. what are we going to send them back to? it's not like juan valdez is going to greet them at the airport with roses. i think we need a real strategy to know why they left. i've said repeatedly, and i will say this again. i have felt over the last decade we have fought four wars. one in afghanistan. because of an attack on us. we fought one on iraq that members voted for. i did not. then we fought the cyberwar which continues to be a significant threat. and i don't minimum mieds the threat of terrorism. and then i talked about the war at our border. but i was worried about drug dealers. i wasn't worried about children. but the children are coming because of tdrug dealers so we can talk about root cause and poverty.

i don't minimize that but we have to really, now, i think we have to really focus on our hemisphere. i believe that we've had three decades of uneven policy in terms of looking at our own hemisphere and in central america. senator harkin knows about eight and senator shelby, we come from a background that heard about the nuns that were assaulted. the assassination of oscar romero. war after war with brutality after brutality and then just when we're ready to deal with it some other thing turns our head and we're off running with flight jackets visiting some new issue. so i think we need to, in addition to all of the other wars we have to fight, bring to a close swrur jury, you know as mr. homeland security, there's a lot of threats to this country. i believe that the threats of the children, the children are not threats. the children are coming because of the threat to the children.

and i think we need to meet the urgent needs here. we have to then really focus on our hemisphere. and have a focused way that deals with the crime. deals with the corruption. deals with exactly where a mother will risk sending her daughter on a perilous journey because it's less violent than what she would find staying home with her grandmother. we have a lot of work to do. the record will be opened for two weeks. i invite any nonprofit to submit testimony. we'll continue our discussion. the committee stands in recess until the full committee will be marking up on next thursday, the defense appropriations. with the modification that if we can get other things done this week, i'm sure going to do it.

>> my job is to focus on what the supplemental requires. does it really deal with the challenges that the country is facing? and our legal obligations to the children. and then, to move that process forward. >> i intend to keep my -- to do off of my bill, to focus on the

fiscal aspects. what i have here before me is in terms of the legal parties, i don't think they have submitted or whatever. >> last question. >> the republicans today raised the concern that these children are going to their family members to, maybe, undocumented. is that a concern for you? and -- 123450 sorry, what's your question? >> are you concerned that hhs doesn't check the legal status of the family members these children are being released to? >> what i'm concerned about is the safety and security of the children. we meet our obligations under the law which is determito dete the legal status and in that process make sure their nickel-sized a safe and secure police. i also think that what we're talking about with the state department and homeland security, a very muscular deterrent strategy in these countries, not to encourage

these gangs, they are actually putting out false advertising to treat these gangs the bronx way. >> folks, we're done. thank you very much. >> thank you. if you missed any of today's senate appropriation's committee, i reminder it's available on our website. just go to cspan.org. and we've been asking you to share your thoughts about whether congress should approveth president's $3.7 billion request for unaccompanied immigrant children crossing the border. some of you're tweets, george says, secure the borders and deport the undocumented living on the taxpayers back. from gaeg, a table full of bleeding hearts for illegaling begging for money is not going to solve anything. close the border now with the guard. and lilly tweets, do not spend $3.9 billion.

repeal the 2008 law and don't let them enter the u.s. send them back. over on our facebook page, sarah posts, i do not think we should give them this money. our borders should be closed and the $3.7 billion should be spent on our country's children, soldiers and elderly. dina writing -- where are the parents? we have our own problems like the unemployed and homelessness. not to be mean, but, send them back. and sherry says on facebook, the crisis is because of the drug cartels and gangs in the central american countries. and the fact that the united states has been cracking down on drug and immigration enforcement. congress passed a law in 2008 before obama was elected. that provides children and refugees from the central american countries. a court hearing for safe haven before being deported. continue the conversation at facebook.com/c-span. on the senate floor today, members confirmed president obama's choice to head up the

white house budget office. shean donovan, the president's former housing secretary, was approved by the full senate by a vote of let our republicanism so focused and so dedicated not be made fuzzy and futile by unthinking and stupid labels. [ applause ]

i would remind you that extremism and the defense of liberty is no vice. [ applause ] thank you. thank you. and let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

>> senator goldwater's acceptance speech at the 196 4 republican national convention, this weekend on "american history tv's" "reel america" sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. congressional lawmakers on wednesday hosted a ceremony to posthumously award a medal to raoul wallenberg. leaders from both the house and senate paid tribute during this hour-long ceremony. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our honored guests, members of the united states house of representatives, members of the united states senate, and the speaker of the united states house of representatives.

[ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. >> ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon, and welcome to the united states capitol. we're honored to be joined today by members of the diplomatic corps, former ambassadors, representatives from the state department and u.s. mint, and leaders of the jewish community throughout our country. shortly before christmas, 1944, raoul wallenberg did something many of us have had to do. told his mother he wouldn't be

home for christmas. or home for the holidays. i must send you my best wishes for christmas by this means, he wrote. i hope the peace so longed for is not so far away. the bottom of the note he added, lots of kisses to nina and her little girl. well, that nina, of course, was raoul's sister who is with us today, as are several members of the family. thank you, all, for being here. [ applause ] by the time he sent that letter, wallenberg had saved more lives than we can count. he had done much of the work on his own. and his daring was so h dumbfounding that the nazis aimed their guns above his head. they were perpetrating what churchill called the most

horrible crime ever committed in the whole of history. but before this man, they coward. you could say he was like a comet across the dark sky, seen once in a lifetime, yet we know he burns on which is why we are all here today. only seven individuals have been made honorary citizens. the first was churchill, wallenberg the second. to this, we added the congressional gold medal, a tradition that began with george washington, himself. this medal is a tribute to a citizen of the world, but it is really more than that. it's a commitment to honor his family and his memory and to tell his story and to always seek the truth. this is not too much to do. in fact, it's the least we can

do. for his deeds may be beyond our capacity, but his lessons are not. the answer to fear is always courage. none of god's children, not one, is alone. and, of course, honoring a mother. i hope you all enjoy today's program. >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the united states armed forces color guard, the singing of the national anthem, and the retiring of the colors.

♪

♪ ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing as the chaplain of the united states senate, dr. barry black, gives the in invocation. >> let us pray. lord god almighty, judge of all the earth, you are the sovereign lord of history.

as we meet today to honor with a congressional gold medal an incomparable humanitarian, raoul wallenberg, we praise you, oh god, for using him as an instrument of your mercy. we're grateful that you equipped him with the requisite skills and talents to become the right person in the right place at the right time. thank you for using him to organize and negotiate in order to save 100,000 jews from nazi extermination. today, as we celebrate the contributions of a man who

became a captive so that people could live free, make us fit to become a liberating force in your world. lord, save us from the slavery of negativity and from the bondage of selfishness. purify our hearts and guide our purpose that your will may become our will. we pray in your sovereign name, amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, united states representative from the fifth district of new york, the honorable gregory meeks.

>> mr. speaker, leader reid, distinguished members of the dais, my colleagues, all distinguished guests. i am delighted to join with all of you this afternoon for the congressional gold medal ceremony honoring the life of raoul wallenberg. it is my distinct honor to have played a role in the recognition of one of history's most unheralded heroes. i offer my deepest gratitude to freelander, international raoul, individuals and organizations, as well as my congressional colleagues, specially nan hayworth, my co-sponsor of this bill, bestowing this congressional gold medal upon

raoul wallenberg. i did not learn of the remarkable acts of raoul wallenberg in my elementary school or middle school or high school or college or even law school for that matter. it was through entities like the international raoul wallenberg foundation, american jewish joint committee, and other constitutions and individuals that i became aware of the courage, resourcefulness, and deeds of this great man. the more i learned about raoul wallenberg, the more i was convinced that congress needed to acknowledge his legacy in an enduring way. in such a way that we could inspire future generations of americans by what wallenberg accomplished. the overwhelming bipartisan passage of the legislation reflects the undeniable intent

of congress to keep his legacy alive. i have had many moments of quiet reflection on the wallenberg story. as we look to tackle the violent conflicts and unthinkable oppression around the world today, i am reminded that even in the midst of the most grotesque acts of inhumanity, one person can make a difference. regardless of any differences that distinguish us from each other, the moral courage of one person is sometimes enough to make all the difference for all of human kind. today, raoul wallenberg's voice still echos across the generations. his actions reverberate through time. summoning us to muster the moral courage to do in our time what he and his colleagues did in

their time. raoul wallenberg's legacy challenges us to come together to collaborate, to cooperate for humanity's sake and against today's threat to human dignity, human rights, and human life. i'm honored to be one of the sponsors, the lead sponsor, to honor this great human being. thank you, god bless you. >> ladies and gentlemen, united states senator from new york, the honorable kirsten gillibrand. >> today we are proud to honor raoul wallenberg with the nation's highest civilian award. congressional gold medal of honor. during world war ii, raoul

wallenberg chose to leave his life of ease in sweden if a diplomatic assignment in hungary which was then an ally of nazi germany. his assignment was the result of a recruitment effort by the united states war refugee board and the office of strategic services to try to save the remaining hungarian jews from the holocaust. in this effort, mr. wallenberg succeeded beyond any reasonable expectation. he provided swedish passports to thousands of jews which literally made the difference between life and death. mr. wallenberg rented 32 buildings in budapest, raised a swedish flag and declared them protected by diplomatic immunity. within these buildings, he housed, protected, and saved almost 10,000 precious lives. mr. wallenberg's bravery and his

will to act are an example to all of us. according to an eyewitness, mr. wallenberg once climbed on to the roof of a train with jews departing for auschwitz, handing protected passes through the doors. amid threats from the forwards, he then marched dozens of those with passes to safety in amr. wg helped thwart the plan by threatening hungarian leaders with a promise of hanging for war crimes if they carried out their plot. sadly, and selflessly, mr. wallenberg was taken prisoner when the soviet army liberated budapest for the nazis and was presumed to die in a moscow prison. so when we look up a the word, hero, the dictionary tells us a person who is admired for great acts of bravery or fine

qualities. a legendary figure often of divine descent, great strengths, illustrious leader. while the word hero is sometimes used gra truetously. it emplyfys his outstanding spirit, dedication to humanity and responsibility for all of us to speak out against atrocities. his enduring legacy lives on in the countless descendants of those saved. i want to just close by reflecting on dr. barry black's prayer to open this ceremony. raoul wallenberg was placed there for a time such as this. all of us are placed where we are in our lives for times such as this. we should never forget it.

>> ladies and gentlemen, mr. ben olander. ♪ in the midst of the black storm so chokingly dense came a breeze of cleanest air twas part of brightest sins ♪

♪ a flame gave light ♪ and no one could climb behind words like ensnare ♪ ♪ this solitary mine amongst us now with glory to his name became our gleam of hope in a world of filth and shame ♪ ♪ like a cliff in churning water he stood firm to lead the way so that no one could astray or from truth go far away ♪ ♪ salvaging the deserted he took

his last step ♪ ♪ no shield upon his arm, no sword in his hand ♪ ♪ but his words bit like steel on the, and with tricks he snatched the victims out of their bonding ties ♪ ♪ this solitary man amongst us now with glory to his name became our gleam of hope in a world of guilt and shame ♪ ♪ like a clip in churning water he stood firm to lead the way so that no one could deny or from

truth go far astray ♪ ♪ ♪ when the light poured in in freedom's sacred may by twin-headed dragon he was stolen without shame ♪ [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the democratic whip of the united states house of representatives, the honorable steny hoyer. >> nina, as you've noticed, i'm

not nancy pelosi. she is out of state. she wanted me to give you her very best and her great respect. mr. speaker, leader reid, leader mcconnell, my dear friend and majority leader of the house of representatives, eric cantor, gillibrand, gregory meeks who sponsored this legislation, foreign minister built, speaker westerberg, members of the raoul wallenberg foundation, and ladies and gentlemen. i am pleased to be here. unfortunately as i've said, leader pelosi could not be with us this afternoon, but she asked me to convey her greetings to all of you and to express her gratitude. nina, to you, and the entire wallenberg family, along with her congratulations on the presentation of this gold medal.

i quote, whoever destroys a single soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. and whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. raoul wallenberg saved 100,000 worlds and the descendants of those whose lives were spared because of his courage and conviction number like the stars. today's gold medal ceremony is not only a moment to reflect on his heroism, and his role as one of the most consequential, righteous among the nations. it is also an opportunity for all of us here to remember the lesson he taught us all through his example. a lesson as applicable today as it was amid the horrors of the second world war and the

holocaust. and that lesson is for us never to be indifferent. never to be a bystander in the face of injustice. never to say, someone else will do the right thing so i don't have to. like his countrymen in sweden and those who have paid tribute to him in israel, in hungary and around the world, americans honor raoul wallenberg, because we see in the man and in his incredible act of resistance a reminder of the same values that led our nation to fight for the liberation of europe during the second world war and to support movements for human rights, self-determination, and democracy ever since. congress honored him by making him an honorary citizen in 1981 as the speaker has pointed out.

and accepting a bust of his likeness that now greets visitors in emancipation hall. today, we continue the work of celebrating his life and his heroism from which millions continue to give thanks. and on a personal level, i am grateful to your brother, raoul wallenberg, for making possible the years of close friendship i was so very fortunate to share with an extraordinary american, an extraordinary hungarian, tom, and still today with annette. and all americans are indebted to him for making possible tom's irreplaceable service to this count country. as a member of congress and moral voice for america's support for human rights around the world. as a result of the many survivors like tom and annette who have worked to combat the forces of bloodshed and

intolerance that marred their early years, raoul wallenberg works of saving lives continues to this day, and will we pray, continue for generations to come. tom once said, the veneer of civilization is paper thin. we are the guardians, and we can never rest. we must never rest. we must never forget. we must never forget the tragedy that befell the victims, the determination of the survivors, and certainly as we do today, the unbelievable courage of those who resisted and risked their lives to save others. today we present a gold medal. a gold medal in remembrance of someone who was the gold standard for the proposition

that we are our brothers keepers. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the majority leader of the united states house of representatives, the honorable eric cantor. >> mr. speaker, leader reid, to my colleagues, nina, and other members of the wallenberg family, to all guests. it is an honor to join you today to recognize one of history's gentle heroes, and a remarkable man, raoul wallenberg. history has taught us that war and an overzealous quest for power can bring out the worst of mankind. throughout world war ii, we saw

the advancement of tyranny and terror along with the destruction of cities across the globe. we also witness the greatest tragedy of modern times, the holocaust. like so many of you, i have visited and walked among the ruins and ashes of the death camps of auschwitz and berkenow. while there, i was dumbfounded of how evil can overtake human kind. the scale of horror was undeniable. which is why history demands that we are here and proclaim never again. the same history has taught us that through suffering and sorrow, we can find the best of mankind. the one man that we honor here

today, raoul wallenberg, provided strength and showed fearlessness while saving the lives of thousands of innocent people. he would eventually give his life to prevent men, women, and children from entering the nazi death camps. those he saved were people he hadn't met and people he'd never know. in the jewish faith, we believe that god works through messengers. i truly believe raoul wallenberg was one of history's great messengers for freedom and peace. in the spirit of redemption, it is written in isaiah, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. to those who were rescued by raoul wallenberg, he was their

light that shined in their darkness. his gifts to man kind, and for the peace of the world, will continue to be immeasurable. in the united states of america, we'll remain forever grateful. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. >> as a young architecture student in michigan, raoul wallenberg once wrote the following to his grandfather back in sweden. "i feel so at home in my little

ann arbor that i'm beginning to have a hard time imagining my leaving it." just over a decade later, raoul wallenberg would vanish, never to be heard from again. but in the few short years in between, he found a different calling. far from ann arbor. and for as long as the story of world war ii is told, people will marvel at good this man did. between raoul wallenberg's youthful dreams of a pleasant life in america, and his eventual disappearance, he would fully and completely embrace the role that fate had handed him.

and through countless acts of courage and daring, he would not only earn a place in our hearts, he would earn a permanent place in the pantheon of history's great men. he would become a hero for our times. and for all times. the context of wallenberg's actions is well known. in early 1944, nazi troops in hungary began to accelerate their wicked plan to eradicate hungary's jewish population. president roosevelt became aware of the situation and was determined to act. he quickly sent a representative of the american war refugee board to neutral sweden.

to find someone who could lead a rescue mission for hungary's remaining jews. it was one of the great head hunting successes in history. raoul wallenberg was clearly the man for the job. his tools were few. with little more than a swedish diplomatic passport, american support and unswerving belief in his mission and immense, immense personal courage, this remarkable man would go on to save 100,000 men, women, and children. in one six-month period, he has said to have worked around the clock. at times without eating or sleeping. one fellow member of the swedish

explains wallenberg's success as a diplomat for a neutral country. this is way he put it. "he began his mission with only one source of power, an unfaltering faith in himself, buttressed by the justice of his cause." with no army behind him, his passion and his cunning would have to suffice. one worker on wallenberg's staff later recalled an incident where 800 hungarian jews were being deported on foot to a concentration camp in austria. wallenberg caught up with him at the frontier and on the basis of no earthly authority whatsoever, issued his stern demand. "who of you has a swedish

prote protective passport? raise your hand." at this berg ran between the columns and quietly told people to raise their hands whether they had a passport or not. as berg remembered it, wallenberg took command of all who had raised their hands with such confidence that none of the guards opposed him. given the virtual impossibility of his task, we remain amazed today at raoul wallenberg's achievements. when he arrive ein hungary in early july of 1944, he had few contacts of any influence. his knowledge of the language was limited. he had no official experience as a diplomat. but a fire burned within him. and he found a way.

whether it was the creation of thousands of special swedish passpo passports, or the housing of tens of thousands of hungarian jews and the dozens of buildings he bought for the purpose, he found a way. and when the russians finally seized budapest, so many houses were flying the familiar blue and yellow flag of sweden that marshall, himself, said to have remarked that he must be in a swedish city. instead of a hungarian one. one man, one man, did all of this. and today we honor him. we honor him for his courage, his heroism, and his extraordinary example. may the memory of raoul wallenberg always inspire us to be our best selves for others.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the majority leader of the united states senate, the honorable harry reid. >> ben olander, i'm familiar with your musical instrument. that was made popular in america by johnny cash's mother-in-law, maybell carter. and your music, instrument, instrumental music and your wonderful voice and the music chosen was a perfect setting for this wonderful event. thank you very much. [ applause ]

as we look around this wonderful rotunda, we're gathered quite literally in the hall of heroes. surrounding us all around us are the statues and busts of great men and great women. whose courage we braise, hard work adorns these walls. all remind us of their contributions. but i'm confident even in the company of such iconic figures, the heroism of a young swedish diplomat, raoul wallenberg, is remarkable. and unlike some of the heroes n enshrined here in the rotun ton, wallenberg's heroism was not facilitated with weapons or physical power. instead wallenberg's heroism was born of his audacity and his

courage, not his physical courage, but his moral courage. facing hitler's nazi war machine and his butchery, wallenberg thought for thousands upon thousands of hungarian jews whose predetermined fate this good man refused to accept. it was his audacity, his courage which led him to create shutspass, the swedish protective passport that wallenberg and his team fwagave jews throughout budapest. he had the audacity and courage to purchase safe houses for refugre refug refugees, labeling the buildings as swedish territory and draping them with swedish flags. wallenberg had the audacity and courage to dress young blond jewish hungarians in nazi uniforms staging them outside shelters effectively marking those safe houses off limits to