 Billions of dollars going straight to ICE and CVP with zero restrictions that it actually had to be used to do anything for the kids in detention to speed up processing or do anything like that. So I think people are pretty pissed. I would imagine that the more liberal and progressive senators were afraid that they would be seen as like not supporting children but the reality is that they kowtowed and they did not do anything. I think Schumer was one of the people who really like led the charge on like just letting it pass with no strings attached. Well I'm Pelosi both of them. I'm Pelosi then did it in the house and it passed in the house and I think Trump has already signed it or is going to sign it soon. So there's a bunch of money. What about Peter Welch? Because as I understand it a couple things Pelosi did what she did. She came to board up the house version. She chose to bring up the Senate version but also Peter I'm known for a million years but he's one of the assistant whips down there. So I'm really curious you know what is Peter's position on this because the negative point of view it seems like you did nothing but carry water for Pelosi to get the votes whipped into shape to support the Senate bill. There's a list you can go see and see how they voted and I didn't remember to look up what he voted. This is one of a national number of protests that are happening this week particularly today called I Move On and United We Dream and I think a few other groups and so there is one that happened earlier today in Montpelier. There's one that happened earlier today in Burlington and the Burlington folks visited everybody's office. So like Sanders they visited Leahy's office they visited Welch. But I have a letter I was going to reach you see if you're interested in signing. Basically one of the things that they asked us all to do is to drop off a letter with three demands. I added a four. Let me read the letter to you and if you agree then we'll sign it. So dear Senator Leahy we are deeply disappointed that you voted in favor of McConnell's bill to give more money to ICE and CDP with no requirements for them to spend that money on improving conditions or speeding up releases. You effectively rewarded the agencies responsible for committing atrocities and abuses against children and families. Our demands are simple. The first three demands are given to us from Move On and United We Dream. So close the camps and reunite families. We should not be detaining children or separating families. The conditions of many of these detention centers are worthy for prosecution for crimes against humanity as is the policy even if in its current pared down form of separating families. There's ample research showing children suffer irreversible harm from being in detention and from being separated from families regardless of the conditions. Do not spend one dollar on family separation detention or deportation. When the September budget is negotiated we need you to prioritize defunding ICE and CDP. Our tax dollars should not be supporting the cruelty and abuses of these agencies. And three visit a detention center unannounced on your July 4th recess and demand regular inspections. In the words of your colleague Senator Carol Alvarado as the quote as these facilities are in our state the conditions under which they operate is a reflection of our values and commitment to the humane treatment treatment of all within our borders. The Franklin County Jail in St. Albans and the Vermont Department of Corrections and Waterbury are both being used for holding immigrants. Here is a guide for members of Congress and there's like a little thing where they can actually guide for how Congress members can do these unannounced visits and what they should ask for and things like that so put a link in there. And then four this is the one that I added close the law enforcement support center. You help develop and expand ICE's National Nerve Center in Williston. You have continued to defend the existence of the center which among other things helps identify undocumented immigrants for ICE and leads to more deportations. We are appalled that Vermont is supporting and that you are defending ICE's deportation efforts. This must stop immediately. We believe this is a watershed moment where we are all called to action. History will judge us harshly if we stand by and allow these atrocities to continue. As our elected official we call on you to uphold our most basic human values and do everything in your power to intervene interrupt and end these inhuman actions against children and families. We will be your partner in this effort or we will hold you to account for your actions sincerely. Okay. So every single correctional facility in the state of Vermont gets money from ICE. Every single one and a lot. So that's so it shores up their budgets. Yeah, they don't necessarily house anyone. I've seen it any of them except the ones up in Newport and Swanton house anyone yet. But but they all get money from it every single year. They get money from ICE. So it's a budgetary thing for this guy. Yeah. So here's the deal. So we will have a letter we wanted to read we had not gotten around to signing it but we'll sign it before you leave so that you can take it back with you to give you a chance to address the first thing one of the first reasons why we're here is the fact that he voted for a bill that has no restriction. And we would like to hear did he try to put restriction? Where does he stand on that? And how does he justify himself? Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity. Let me tell you what's not in the bill and what is in the bill and have a handout that identifies that. No funding for the wall. No funding for ICE detention vets prohibits a bet prohibits transfer of any DHS funding in this bill to any other purpose prohibits information obtained from potential sponsors of an occupied unaccompanied children from being used for immigration enforcement ensures congressional oversight to Office of Refugee Resettlement Facilities within 48 hours. Notice temporary facilities in operation for more than six months must meet new minimum standards and all new CBP processing facilities must meet national standards of transport escort detention and search requires monthly reporting on children being separated from their families. Those are the things that are pushing back the Trump administration. Let me tell you what is in the bill. $979 million in new funding for migrant care processing facilities, food, medical services and safe transportation. $109 million to ensure the safety and well being of children through post release, wraparound services, legal services and case management. 30 new immigration judge judge teams to address immigration backlog. $20 million in funding to expand alternatives to detention programs by an estimated $13,500 people. $30 million for grants for nonprofits who care for migrant families released from CBP custody. $10 million for the legal orientation program to educate migrants about their rights and the legal process at the border and $9 million to speed up placement of unaccompanied children's responses and manager cases. So that is what is in the bill. Now Senator Lee voted for the House passed bill in the Senate. It didn't have enough votes to pass. It needed 60. It got 55. He worked very hard as he has on immigration issues for a long time with Senator Shelby to push back at the Trump administration what they wanted for the wall and additional detention beds. And he felt that it's really important because they would or would run out of money at the end of this month. The fact that you get medical care that you get beds that you put the stuff in place to help fix a broken system is why he's poured that bill. He wasn't just going to walk away and not do anything. It's not a perfect bill. It's horrible the way to be treated. He has been to a processing center down in Texas to see what's going on firsthand. He's trying to do what he can as a U.S. Senator to make life better. And what you want. Yeah, the question is when the president comes back and signs the bill, then the process goes into effect. I mean, it has to have the president signature. We're assuming that he will support that bill. And I'd like to point out to in 2013 as chair of Senate Judiciary, Senator Lay he shepherded through comprehensive immigration reform. It got 68 votes in the U.S. Senate. That rarely happens anymore. It got to the house and they refused to deal with it. And then all the things in it that we wanted to give people a legal path of citizenship to help out DACA recipients. He's been at this for a long time. He's introduced legislation to get blue cards for agricultural workers. As you know, you can't just leave cows alone for six months out of the air. We need the ag workers here in Vermont to be able to do that job. He's tried to work against separating families. I mean, he's doing everything he can. We're in a democracy. It takes the majority vote to get things through in some instances 60 in the Senate. But he worked very hard to push back on what were Trump priorities in this bill. And there's a lot of goodness. Is it perfect? No. But he's doing the absolute best he can. He's made progress. They don't continue to go back and do it. But it delivers aid when they needed. Oh, our was going to run out of money at the end of the June. He felt it more important that you get the medical care, the space that they need, the betting for the kids who need it. And that's that's why he spoke. So aren't some of these things that are in this new bill things that are were already in place? Or was aren't some of these things the criteria in any case? Well, there's new criteria about having their club to standards for health and safety around the facilities where the housing people suppose are new and directing the money in there and telling DHS you can't move the money. Money where appropriate goes to these purposes. Now that doesn't mean DHS won't find money somewhere else to try to real relocate. But the money that the Senate and the House by agreeing to with the majority vote appropriated is supposed to go for these issues. And what if they do violate it? Then they're violating the law. Well, there's a lot of violating the law going on these days. So one wonders what the next step is. Congress rights the laws. We can only hope that they enact them. And you know they said they'll be they'll be watching it. But again, you know, is the senator happy with what's going on down there? No, he's trying to direct funding there to try to make a difference immediately. He felt it more important that the people who are waiting in the kids have beds to sleep and have the medical care they need. And getting immigration judges to reduce the backlog so people can actually process for legal immigration in this country. That's the basic stuff we need to do. And that's what he's trying to do. So let's I'm sorry, more to the point though. What exactly what are the options that the senator has or that the government has if they do violate this? Then we'll have to whether it goes to court or Congress has to take steps to try to step in. Well, let's hope they don't go there. You know, their role is to legislate. Let's see how they execute. They cleared into the law saying you were not to divert this money to other purposes, including the wall or additional detention beds. Yes. So I think that we can all agree like we're glad lately he has championed immigrant rights at various moments in history. I think throughout his career. Right. And we're in a different kind of a moment where the traditional tactics that I think Congress has used don't hold up anymore because the level of atrocities, the level of cruelty that we're seeing particularly gets children and families, which is just incontunable, is has reached and demands from us a new level of action. And so I'm curious about particularly the not spending any more money on ice on deportations on family separations like what he's going to do with September budget coming up around trying to defund ice trying to defund CBP. There are other very important functions that ice is assigned to do by their designation. I'll just share a few of them with you because this comes up quite a bit. Okay. And the senator would much rather they focus on these than their this administration when he's had a photo. They've had him focusing on financial crimes, money laundering, bulk cash smuggling. I'm just going to step here. Why that's the mission of no, I totally get that. I know that there are people and there are people within ice who hate what the enforcement arm of ice is doing, right? And we've heard it all. We've heard those stories. But the reality is the more money they have them. And we see like the priorities are set by the administration. Priorities are not set by the people in ice doing the things that we actually need them to do. So when so many resources are then being thrown specifically to enforcement, right now it feels like a very reasonable measure to say like, we're just not going to give you the money and you're going to have to deal with some of that. And if you were to completely defund ice, which isn't going to happen. The other issues that ice has to focus on intellectual property theft, cyber crime, human rights, violations, human trafficking, smuggling, those are other assignments that's on the mission statement. This administration has kind of moved up the immigration documentation stuff up to the top of the list. But those functions need to take place. It matters to trade. It matters to commerce. So to do away with ice, it's not something that's going to be defunding ice. Well, they are assigned to ice. The senator would prefer and will do his best to make sure they focus on what they should be focusing on. I think it would be the problem is, you know, that they're really intent on this whole crackdown of people that look different as a way of playing to the xenophobic base. This is an act by intentional members of this administration as a way of creating this white ethno state, a really hostile experience the rest of the world, a big antagonistic relationship with the world that we need to cooperate with. We're going to solve our global problems. We can't just play mind games or little label games around ice. Ice may have certain functions that are valid. What they're being used and weaponized to do is destructive, is criminal. The other things I itemize are incredibly important. We rather in the Senate will focus his time trying to make sure they focus on those missions. But I think at this point for him to abolish ice would not be something that'd be a favorite. He rather get them to focus on what their mission is. They get these tasks out of their mission statement. I mean, that's the bottom line about immigration, like false documentation and stuff there's stuff that they should track. But they've got many other things they need to focus on versus this. Unfortunately, we're in an environment where you have an administration that is having to focus on other things. Believe me, I mean, we know the senator is not happy with what's going on. And he's doing the absolute best he can to try to change things. You know, we do have attention center. This is one in McAllen. Well, he already visited one in McAllen, Texas, a processing center, which is where they hate to have the younger people. So he's already been there, his staff has been down there as well. So he knows what's going on. He thinks it's deplorable. And he feels that by what he's done in the supplemental, the starting to address those needs going forward. And now immediately, they need the money they've run out. And what specifically is he going to do about the current conditions? I know there's a bunch of money we're not sure how it's going to span. We're not sure how it's going to be delivered. Also, we've already seen a Trump lawyer argue that children don't need beds or toothbrushes, right? To meet sanitary conditions. So like, what is he doing to make sure that there are inspections and this is in law, and I'll give everybody a copy of this. So you have it. What is actually in the legislation to pass to deal with those issues. He understands there should be humane treatment, you know, things like beds, toothbrushes, health, the fact that they actually get a legal attorney to return to what they need to do to help you know, that's the infrastructure. They've said this is how you'll spend the money. Is there a committee to make sure that money is spent? Congress appropriated the money, the appropriations bill, both in the Senate and the House, the Senate bill they passed, they have their jobs to appropriate. Now they will track it and see what happens. If the Trump administration decides to go astray, that's when Congress needs to step in. Now, for an example, you know, there was that Facebook thing that CBP, they were saying some really outrageous things. Well, they called on the Inspector General to investigate what was going on. I mean, there are steps that we could take, but they've done their job. They passed a law. Now let's see what happens. Go there. But they identified this that you will not divert funding. And this is where the money would go. Which I think is a huge thing. So Congress can act on the Inspector General's report, which was scathing. But I'm saying, you know, he could have said, you know, I'll wait. He wasn't going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. It was important to get care that people trying to come into this country need. And that's what he did in this bill. He worked very hard to keep some of the more strident things that Trump has in there. It's not over. We have a long ways to go. That's where it stands right now. I had a request the senator when they when they come back to consider having the judiciary convene hearing on the atrocious behavior. You know that Facebook page that the board of patrol members have racist comments, terrible comments about the father and the daughter who died. And if the chair of that committee, they have a hearing could the Democrats then convene a public hearing of their own to investigate that incident. I don't maybe they could. I don't know fundamentally how that works out in Feinstein Center Feinstein's the ranking member on judiciary. And I'll have that discussion with him this afternoon. Well, thank you. Maybe it can happen. I know there certainly is an interest in that. We have a lot of talk about wanting to hold accountable the folks who are actually running these facilities. And I think there's a chain of command with that everybody in that chain is somewhere accountable for what's been happening. And we want to actually understand where those decisions are being made. The people who are refusing care to toddlers like we want to see people held accountable for those actions to demonstrate that that is not how we do things in this country. And I do think as a result of what they've done with the corporations that do much more attention because they have to report on what's going on is the aid going there and having like the visitation how granted is a 48 hour notice but they do the visitation to the sites and getting the attorneys on place they'll just overall should make a significant difference. And as to what particular steps we can take is the accountability. So the best of your ability why the 48 hour lead time you know I don't know I know it would be nice to be able to get there on this spot I'd have to find out about that. Because I'm curious about the oversight that's mentioned in the bill as you read it and what that looks like that seems that seems like kind of a giveaway. I mean to be nice to be able to just I'm sure there are things they have to do to prep and I can actually try to find out where they arrive at the 48 hours it doesn't seem unreasonable that we should be able to examine what our own government is saying to me. I mean I can understand this time to do a little bit but it's just a few hours. Again I don't know enough about that. I think I speak for all of us and we're all very interested and invested in this particular issue and hearing generally ongoing steps. We want to know what the official is doing and we want to know what he's doing. We need to hold him responsible and build all of the reposition of power while this is happening. Can you talk about how you all update us and let us know what's happening? Again what I would say we go to the center's website we constantly post things that are taking place and I'll talk to the people the press secretary and Jane who work on that just to make sure it's always here. You can always email me I've got my business card I'm happy to give you to go along with it. We're happy to engage like I said he's been at this a long time and his parents are my grandparents we're all he can sit on the radio today unless you're Native American you're Native American. Do you think the senator has urgency around this and can he bring urgency? He can do the best he can in the minority that's the struggle here the Republican Senate and the Republican president you know it comes down to votes so we still are the best again to be able to get the appropriations bill that came out 30 to 1 doesn't happen very often how they was able to again the House version that came to the Senate was only able to get 55 guest votes it needed 6th senator Lay was one of those 55 guest votes but then when that failed the Senate bill and that's what we ended up with for that I think it's doing the best we can it is directing a lot of things that are needed for the people who are trying to cross the border and are being contained Is he planning to go on and visit facilities? He's already visited one we'll probably make another trip but he did visit one down in McAllen, Texas a processing facility again he's been there and his staff has been down there as well the staff on appropriations have been down to see what's going on deep understanding he's not happy with the way things are he's trying to make them better and he'll just do the work it was the I guess the number 45 just refused to print the census forms as part of this general strategy and I guess the House is suing now is there a way for the Senate to act in a way to the committee to bring that up as a way of oversight and basically say holding the children beyond 72 hours is in contradiction of the U.S. law and international human rights standards and then sue As to the particulars of bringing something up to the Senate because we don't have the majority we don't set the schedule now people like Senator Lay will keep bringing attention to the issue and doing what we can but we we don't schedule the committee hearings we don't schedule the agenda it's just the way it works in the Senate the majority party what gets to the floor I completely sympathize there also this is an extraordinary moment of crisis on the planet entirely on a bunch of levels driven by this administration as a way of being a broken record and basically making sure that everything starts with the crimes there's been a challenging environment Senator Lay has been there from several administrations I think it's safe to say he's never seen anything quite like this he will just keep doing what he can to keep the truck administration honest and do what he can as an appropriator to make sure the money goes where it needs to go I just wanted to make one comment and pass it on from my son who's over here 11 years old to you and Lay here I was trying to explain to him why we're here why we're coming here because children are in jail he thought about it for like 20 minutes or something and then he gave it and he said mom, mom, why are kids in jail and I'm like I don't know why what are we going to say to the rest of the world to the planet why are we letting this happen it's inhumane because hopefully the appropriations will all make a difference I don't think anybody is going to be satisfied no matter how awesome he is on different issues until it's done so it's a long slog but we will not stop from what he's doing we needed to be a shorter slog we need him to really fight for it really fight for it he is and he has been I'll tell you again, like in 2013 he passed comprehensive immigration reform but he didn't sometimes it's the good guys that have to just keep moving it along and he will and he has and he will he's a servant leader he just tries to get stuff done and make it better for others and that's his whole career and that's what he's going to continue to do that's why I work any other questions? I want to give you these sheets about what it is to send to the senator I'll take this too thank you I appreciate you coming out it does make a difference well, senator ladies says the six most important words of politics will let me tell you this when you hear about what's going on on people's lives you may not see it today although this will have an impact so it's a sign in the law