Central American Children Testify in Front of Congress

Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus entered a hearing in Washington DC on Tuesday to add to the debate around children immigrant in the US. Three children, from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador testified to the violence they experience they terrible experiences they had during their journeys to the U.S. 

12 year old Mayeli Hernandesz explained that she had been treated better by the human smugglers that brought her to the country than by U.S. immigration authorities. She stated,“Please protect children like me and my little sister,” she said. “We can’t go back to our countries because they’re very dangerous and very poor.”

Unaccompanied Children Mayeli, Dulce and Saul Testify before Congress http://t.co/He5hUS2i1j

— Richard Hartwell (@rahartwell) August 3, 2014

Other children were brought from Long Island, New York, to Washington DC for their first time. In addition to Mayeli, were Dulce Medina, and Saul Martinez. 

During his testimony, Saul Martinez stated,  “I have seen horrors that no child ought to see,” Martinez had been caught after crossing the Rio Grande into Texas. He had been held with about 200 children and said that it was the worst experience of his life. 

Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Keith Ellison (D-Mich.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) listen to testimony about the overcrowded, cold facilities for children. All of the children who had visited Washington, attained Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, which is different than refugee stats.