Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson met with President Barack Obama and a group of local elected and religious leaders to discuss the recent humanitarian crisis spurred by the influx of more than 52,000 unaccompanied children along the border during the President’s visit to Dallas today. Congresswoman Johnson offered the following statement after leaving her meeting with the President:
“I want to thank President Obama for taking the time to address this pressing issue with us. We all had a very productive conversation with the President regarding this recent increase of unaccompanied children crossing our southwestern border. He has assured us that he is concentrating the full power of his Administration behind finding the correct solution for this growing humanitarian crisis.
President Obama is in constant communication with authorities on the ground along the entire border and understands the gravity of this situation. He has asked us in Congress to work with him by approving emergency aid to deal with this mass migration and its effects. I applaud Dallas leaders and the wonderful citizens from my district who have responded compassionately to the vulnerability of these unaccompanied children and recognized the urgent need to provide safety, food and shelter to these children to combat the dangers of wide-spread physical and sexual exploitation of children from these countries. I look forward to working with the president and city leaders as we join forces to ensure these children are treated humanely while they are in within our borders while simultaneously seeking a permanent solution that aims to reunite these children with their families while still respecting our laws.”
