Rep. Salmon: House Bill Would Fast-Track Deportations

A bill that would cut the red tape in deporting illegal immigrant children who have been sneaking across the U.S. Mexico border by the thousands is being fast-tracked by U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona.

Salmon told "The Steve Malzberg Show'' on Newsmax TV that a 2008 human-trafficking law requires unaccompanied minors who illegally enter the United States to have a court hearing, but those hearings can take three to five years.

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"We have got to fix that law, and I just [proposed] a bill [that's] catching a lot of steam,'' Salmon said Friday.

"It fixes the law so that these children do not get a guarantee of these hearings, so that a Border Patrol agent has the flexibility to determine whether or not he truly believes that this is an asylum case.''

The legislation would allow U.S. officials to repatriate young illegals back to their country of origin immediately.

Salmon, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the issue must be addressed quickly because of President Barack Obama's inaction on the border crisis.

"The president has been derelict in his duty on enforcing the border,'' Salmon said.

"Because of his lax policies and catch-and-release policies, it has sent a strong message across the world and especially Central America that if you get to America you're going to be able to get amnesty under this president.

"We're doing everything we can to try to stem that tide, but if the president would simply enforce the laws that are on the books, it would go a long way.''

Salmon said the president acknowledged on June 30 that the human-trafficking law must be changed, but so far his proposed legislation has fallen on deaf ears.

"They need to be responsive. If they don't want to fix the crisis, then let them go out to the public and say they don’t want to fix the crisis, but this would go a long way,'' Salmon said.

"In fact, if this bill is passed, and the law is changed, much of that money that the president is asking for is not even needed.''

Salmon believes the ability of border officers to make spot judgments will go a long away toward stopping the abuse and mistreatment of those who attempt cross over.

"Those waves of teenagers are going to keep coming and coming and coming, and many more will die in the desert, and many more will be sexually abused along the way, and many more will be sold into prostitution,'' Salmon said.

"The president is trying to spin this that the compassionate thing to do now to figure out a way to keep them here [in the United States] indefinitely. That's essentially what they're saying when nothing can be further from the truth.

"These kids are being harmed by the coyotes and the cartels that are transporting them, and we can stop that from happening by sending a clear message through our actions, not through our rhetoric that things are changing.''

Salmon also said this fall's midterm elections are vitally important to change the direction of the country.

"This election in November is probably the most important one of our lives,'' he said.

"We have an opportunity to send [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid packing and take away the president's agenda for the last two years of his administration.

"I believe if Americans rise to the occasion, we can get this country back.

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