{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kirkpatrick.house.gov/2019/12/12/rep-kirkpatrick-and-rep-grijalva-send-letter-to-dhs/", "Rep. Kirkpatrick and Rep. Grijalva Send Letter to DHS", "2019-12-12", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Ann Kirkpatrick", "K000368", "kirkpatrick.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington D.C. Rep. Kirkpatrickand Rep. Grijalva sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Wolf demanding answers on the Remain in Mexico policy expansion to the Tucson sector.\nIn November 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)\nannounced that it would be expanding the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP),\nalso known as the Remain in Mexico policy to the Tucson, Arizona and Del Rio,\nTexas sectors. Since the start of this program, more than 55,000 asylum seekers\nand migrants have been forced back into Mexico to await their immigration\nhearings. Asylum seekers arriving in the Tucson sector will now, as part of the\nexpansion, will be sent to El Paso and subsequently forced to wait in Ciudad\nJuarez, Mexico while they await their hearings.\nThe United States was built by people leaving their\nhomeland and journeying here for a better life, it's the great American story.\nSince the Trump Administration announced the implementation of the MPP earlier\nthis year, I have said that it is un-American.Reports haveindicated\nthat hundreds of people returned or placedinMexicounder this\npolicy have fallen victim to kidnapping, sexual assault, extortion, and other\nviolations as they await to be heard or provided legal guidance,said\nRep. Kirkpatrick.We demand that this administration end the Remain\nin Mexico' policy and, further, explain if they set up protections for these\nasylum seekers prior to rolling out this cruel program.\nAfter fleeing violence in their home countries and seeking\nsafety in the United States, it's unconscionable that the Trump Administration\nis forcing asylum seekers to await their hearings in Mexico under deadly\nconditions,said Rep. Ral M. Grijalva.As an increasing\nnumber of asylum seekers fall victim to kidnapping, sexual violence, extortion,\nand murder upon their return to Mexico, I join Rep. Kirkpatrick in demanding an\nend to the Remain in Mexico' policy. Communities across the country are more\nthan willing to provide safe haven and support to asylum seekers, even as the\nTrump Administration continues to turn its back on these vulnerable people.\nArizonans believe\nthat people should be allowed to await asylum hearings from within the U.S.\ninstead of being returned to Mexico, and you can see this in how our\ncommunities have responded to this crisissaid Rep. Kirkpatrick.\nHumanitarian groups\nin our community have demonstrated that Tucson and Arizona as a whole are more\nthan capable of supporting our immigrant and refugee community and have the\ncapacity to provide humanitarian support, even if this current administration\ndoes not.said Rep. Kirkpatrick.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kirkpatrick.house.gov/2019/12/12/rep-kirkpatrick-and-rep-grijalva-send-letter-to-dhs/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6858070846647024, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}