Reps. Bonamici, DeFazio release statement on refugee camp conditions during borderland visit

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon's 1st congressional district representative, which includes Columbia County, travels to Texas, Mexico to observe effect of Trump administration policies.

"Walking around this enormous camp just over the bridge from America – the land of opportunity – we saw families and so many children living in squalor trying to make a life for themselves," Rep. Bonamici is quoted as saying in the statement. "We met a family from El Salvador and the mom was trying to explain to us how sick her child is. She took us around to the opening of her tent and let us look inside to see her sick baby on the floor. This is no way to treat families who are coming to the United States because they are seeking a better life. They are escaping violence. They are escaping countries where they don't feel—and are not—safe. We need to open our arms and open our hearts and let these families make their case here in the United States of America."