Adam Smith Eyes Border Policy Changes In Upcoming Congress

SEATTLE, WA - Reacting to the death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin in Border Patrol custody, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Seattle, says the tragedy is an example of an "inhumane immigration system" that doesn't have the resources to care for detainees.

As Smith and other Democrats prepare to take over the House in 2019, the lawmakers want to change some key ways border enforcement is carried out under the Trump administration. Smith will chair the House Armed Services Committee next year, which means he'll have a say in funding how troops are deployed along the border.

Reacting to Jakelin's death, Smith says Border Patrol facilities aren't set up to care for all the asylum-seekers coming to the U.S.

Smith wants asylum-seekers placed with community service groups while they wait for their claims to be heard.

The Trump administration is "trying to discourage people from seeking asylum by making it as deadly as possible and as unpleasant as possible," Smith said. "We are detaining far too many people, and that leads to not having the resources we have for people we're detaining."

Jakelin arrived at the New Mexico border near Antelope Wells on Dec. 6. She came to the border with her father and over 160 other asylum-seekers. Jakelin was in good health when she arrived, her father has said. But on Dec. 7, she became ill and started vomiting. She later stopped breathing, and reportedly had a temperature of over 105 degrees.

Jakelin died Dec. 8 at a hospital in El Paso, Texas.

The girl's death has also spotlighted the behavior of border agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. After Jakelin's death, a video of border agents destroying water left along the border for migrants got renewed attention.

Smith in 2002 voted for the Homeland Security Act, which, in part, created ICE. But this summer, he cosponsored a bill with U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, that would abolish ICE. The bill, HR 6361, is stuck in a House Immigration and Border Security subcommittee.

But Smith does support enforcement at the border and highlights that the U.S. spending much more now on border security - and was even before Trump took office. Rather than sending the military to the border, Smith says, the government should be adding administrative personnel to process asylum claims. He also wants to see the U.S. engage with countries like Guatemala and Honduras to figure out a way to help fix the criminal and economic problems driving people to seek asylum in the U.S.

"The far better solution is to process asylum seekers more quickly and allow them to stay in the community while they're waiting for an outcome," he said.

Caption: Annunication House director Ruben Garcia answers questions from the media after reading a statement from the family of Jakelin Caal Maquin, pictured at left, during a press briefing Saturday, Dec. 15 at Casa Vides in downtown El Paso.

Photo via Associated Press