0:00:00.852,0:00:04.025
Last summer, I got a call[br]from a woman named Ellie.

0:00:04.049,0:00:07.289
And she had heard about the family[br]separations at the southern border

0:00:07.313,0:00:09.815
and wanted to know[br]what she could do to help.

0:00:09.839,0:00:13.788
She told me the story[br]of her grandfather and his father.

0:00:14.285,0:00:16.373
When they were kids in Poland,

0:00:16.397,0:00:17.640
their father,

0:00:17.664,0:00:19.568
fearing for his son's safety,

0:00:19.592,0:00:22.726
gave them a little bit of money[br]and told them to walk west,

0:00:22.750,0:00:25.110
to just keep walking west across Europe.

0:00:25.134,0:00:26.293
And they did.

0:00:26.317,0:00:28.335
They walked all the way[br]west across Europe,

0:00:28.359,0:00:31.385
and they got on a boat[br]and they got to America.

0:00:32.159,0:00:36.179
Ellie said that when she heard[br]the stories of the teens

0:00:36.203,0:00:38.599
walking up across Mexico,

0:00:38.623,0:00:43.224
all she could think about[br]was her grandfather and his brother.

0:00:43.248,0:00:46.936
She said that for her, the stories[br]were exactly the same.

0:00:47.841,0:00:51.432
Those brothers were[br]the Hassenfeld Brothers --

0:00:51.456,0:00:53.360
the "Has" "bros" --

0:00:54.596,0:00:56.769
the Hasbro toy company,

0:00:56.793,0:00:59.944
which, of course, brought us[br]Mr. Potato Head.

0:01:01.254,0:01:04.381
But that is not actually why[br]I'm telling you this story.

0:01:05.302,0:01:08.562
I'm telling you this story[br]because it made me think

0:01:08.586,0:01:11.803
about whether I would have the faith,

0:01:11.827,0:01:13.372
the courage,

0:01:13.396,0:01:16.815
to send my teens --[br]and I have three of them --

0:01:16.839,0:01:18.167
on a journey like that.

0:01:19.169,0:01:22.576
Knowing that they wouldn't[br]be safe where we were,

0:01:22.600,0:01:24.686
would I be able to watch them go?

0:01:26.995,0:01:31.874
I started my career decades ago[br]at the southern US border,

0:01:31.898,0:01:34.417
working with Central American[br]asylum seekers.

0:01:34.928,0:01:38.494
And in the last 16 years,[br]I've been at HIAS,

0:01:38.518,0:01:42.619
the Jewish organization that fights[br]for refugee rights around the world,

0:01:42.643,0:01:44.332
as a lawyer and an advocate.

0:01:44.919,0:01:48.412
And one thing I've learned[br]is that, sometimes,

0:01:49.229,0:01:53.119
the things that we're told[br]make us safer and stronger

0:01:53.143,0:01:54.348
actually don't.

0:01:55.262,0:02:00.201
And, in fact, some of these policies[br]have the opposite of the intended results

0:02:00.225,0:02:05.328
and in the meantime, cause tremendous[br]and unnecessary suffering.

0:02:06.571,0:02:09.708
So why are people showing up[br]at our southern border?

0:02:09.732,0:02:13.210
Most of the immigrants and refugees[br]that are coming to our southern border

0:02:13.234,0:02:17.348
are fleeing three countries:[br]Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

0:02:17.952,0:02:20.360
These countries are consistently ranked

0:02:20.384,0:02:23.695
among the most violent[br]countries in the world.

0:02:23.719,0:02:26.086
It's very difficult to be safe[br]in these countries,

0:02:26.110,0:02:29.375
let alone build a future[br]for yourself and your family.

0:02:30.180,0:02:33.157
And violence against[br]women and girls is pervasive.

0:02:34.021,0:02:37.291
People have been fleeing Central America

0:02:37.315,0:02:38.895
for generations.

0:02:38.919,0:02:41.527
Generations of refugees[br]have been coming to our shores,

0:02:41.551,0:02:46.312
fleeing the civil wars of the 1980s,

0:02:46.336,0:02:48.568
in which the United States[br]was deeply involved.

0:02:49.227,0:02:50.584
This is nothing new.

0:02:51.169,0:02:55.937
What's new is that recently,[br]there's been a spike in families,

0:02:55.961,0:02:58.755
children and families,[br]showing up at checkpoints

0:02:58.779,0:03:01.114
and presenting themselves to seek asylum.

0:03:02.262,0:03:04.428
Now, this has been in the news lately,

0:03:04.452,0:03:07.770
so I want you to remember a few things[br]as you see those images.

0:03:07.794,0:03:13.888
One, this is not a historically high level[br]of interceptions at the southern border,

0:03:13.912,0:03:17.023
and, in fact, people are presenting[br]themselves at checkpoints.

0:03:17.444,0:03:22.315
Two, people are showing up[br]with the clothes on their backs;

0:03:22.339,0:03:24.681
some of them are literally in flip-flops.

0:03:24.705,0:03:27.651
And three, we're the most[br]powerful country in the world.

0:03:28.204,0:03:29.808
It's not a time to panic.

0:03:30.601,0:03:33.127
It's easy from the safety[br]of the destination country

0:03:33.151,0:03:35.022
to think in terms of absolutes:

0:03:35.046,0:03:37.345
Is it legal, or is it illegal?

0:03:37.734,0:03:40.237
But the people who are wrestling[br]with these questions

0:03:40.261,0:03:44.076
and making these decisions[br]about their families

0:03:44.100,0:03:46.664
are thinking about[br]very different questions:

0:03:46.688,0:03:48.561
How do I keep my daughter safe?

0:03:49.458,0:03:50.900
How do I protect my son?

0:03:52.114,0:03:54.374
And if you want absolutes,

0:03:54.398,0:03:57.411
it's absolutely legal to seek asylum.

0:03:57.862,0:04:02.749
It is a fundamental right in our own laws[br]and in international law.

0:04:02.773,0:04:03.963
And, in fact --

0:04:03.987,0:04:10.851
(Applause)

0:04:10.875,0:04:14.416
it stems from the 1951 Refugee Convention,

0:04:14.440,0:04:17.512
which was the world's response[br]to the Holocaust

0:04:17.536,0:04:21.346
and a way for countries to say never again[br]would we return people to countries

0:04:21.370,0:04:23.574
where they would harmed or killed.

0:04:24.306,0:04:26.827
There are several ways[br]refugees come to this country.

0:04:26.851,0:04:29.655
One is through the US Refugee[br]Admissions Program.

0:04:29.679,0:04:33.809
Through that program, the US identifies[br]and selects refugees abroad

0:04:33.833,0:04:35.889
and brings them to the United States.

0:04:36.527,0:04:40.169
Last year, the US resettled fewer refugees

0:04:40.193,0:04:43.874
than at any time since[br]the program began in 1980.

0:04:43.898,0:04:45.856
And this year, it'll probably be less.

0:04:46.800,0:04:49.763
And this is at a time when we have[br]more refugees in the world

0:04:49.787,0:04:51.842
than at any other time[br]in recorded history,

0:04:51.866,0:04:53.255
even since World War II.

0:04:54.020,0:04:57.787
Another way that refugees[br]come to this country is by seeking asylum.

0:04:57.811,0:05:01.096
Asylum seekers are people[br]who present themselves at a border

0:05:01.120,0:05:04.424
and say that they'll be persecuted[br]if they're sent back home.

0:05:04.448,0:05:07.662
An asylum seeker is simply somebody[br]who's going through the process

0:05:07.686,0:05:08.845
in the United States

0:05:08.869,0:05:11.407
to prove that they meet[br]the refugee definition.

0:05:13.407,0:05:16.843
And it's never been[br]more difficult to seek asylum.

0:05:16.867,0:05:19.945
Border guards are telling people[br]when they show up at our borders

0:05:19.969,0:05:22.518
that our country's full,[br]that they simply can't apply.

0:05:22.542,0:05:24.353
This is unprecedented and illegal.

0:05:24.828,0:05:27.068
Under a new program,

0:05:27.092,0:05:31.258
with the kind of Orwellian title[br]"Migrant Protection Protocols,"

0:05:32.472,0:05:35.128
refugees are told[br]they have to wait in Mexico

0:05:35.152,0:05:38.630
while their cases make their way[br]through the courts in the United States,

0:05:38.654,0:05:40.310
and this can take months or years.

0:05:40.334,0:05:42.153
Meanwhile, they're not safe,

0:05:42.177,0:05:44.200
and they have no access to lawyers.

0:05:45.830,0:05:50.190
Our country, our government,[br]has detained over 3,000 children,

0:05:50.214,0:05:52.791
separating them from their parents' arms,

0:05:52.815,0:05:54.901
as a deterrent from seeking asylum.

0:05:55.723,0:05:57.132
Many were toddlers,

0:05:57.913,0:06:00.557
and at least one was[br]a six-year-old blind girl.

0:06:00.581,0:06:02.062
And this is still going on.

0:06:02.812,0:06:06.680
We spend billions to detain people[br]in what are virtually prisons

0:06:06.704,0:06:08.241
who have committed no crime.

0:06:10.799,0:06:16.230
And family separation has become[br]the hallmark of our immigration system.

0:06:16.603,0:06:21.661
That's a far cry from a shining city[br]on a hill or a beacon of hope

0:06:21.685,0:06:25.524
or all of the other ways we like to talk[br]about ourselves and our values.

0:06:26.137,0:06:29.385
Migration has always been with us,[br]and it always will be.

0:06:29.899,0:06:33.578
The reasons why people flee --[br]persecution, war, violence,

0:06:33.602,0:06:35.115
climate change

0:06:35.139,0:06:39.429
and the ability now to see on your phone[br]what life is like in other places --

0:06:39.453,0:06:41.269
those pressures are only growing.

0:06:42.602,0:06:48.279
But there are ways that we can have[br]policies that reflect our values

0:06:48.303,0:06:51.218
and actually make sense,[br]given the reality in the world.

0:06:51.980,0:06:58.063
The first thing we need to do[br]is dial back the toxic rhetoric

0:06:58.087,0:07:02.778
that has been the basis of our national[br]debate on this issue for too long.

0:07:03.437,0:07:08.551
(Applause)

0:07:10.702,0:07:13.846
I am not an immigrant or a refugee myself,

0:07:13.870,0:07:17.870
but I take these attacks personally,[br]because my grandparents were.

0:07:19.211,0:07:23.759
My great-grandmother Rose[br]didn't see her kids for seven years,

0:07:23.783,0:07:26.245
as she tried to bring them[br]from Poland to New York.

0:07:26.269,0:07:28.200
She left my grandfather[br]when he was seven

0:07:28.224,0:07:30.245
and didn't see him again[br]until he was 14.

0:07:30.269,0:07:31.865
On the other side of my family,

0:07:31.889,0:07:35.526
my grandmother Aliza[br]left Poland in the 1930s

0:07:35.550,0:07:38.423
and left for what was then[br]the British Mandate of Palestine,

0:07:38.447,0:07:40.693
and she never saw[br]her family and friends again.

0:07:41.741,0:07:46.795
Global cooperation as a response[br]to global migration and displacement

0:07:46.819,0:07:51.304
would go a long way towards making[br]migration something that isn't a crisis

0:07:51.328,0:07:52.681
but something that just is,

0:07:52.705,0:07:55.253
and that we deal with[br]as a global community.

0:07:56.488,0:07:58.893
Humanitarian aid is also critical.

0:07:58.917,0:08:01.918
The amount of support we provide[br]to countries in Central America

0:08:01.942,0:08:04.371
that are sending refugees and migrants

0:08:04.395,0:08:09.590
is a tiny fraction of the amount[br]we spend on enforcement and detention.

0:08:10.756,0:08:14.525
And we can absolutely[br]have an asylum system that works.

0:08:15.460,0:08:18.180
For a tiny fraction of the cost of a wall,

0:08:18.204,0:08:19.585
we could hire more judges,

0:08:19.609,0:08:21.839
make sure asylum seekers have lawyers

0:08:21.863,0:08:24.384
and commit to a humane asylum system.

0:08:24.955,0:08:29.621
(Applause)

0:08:33.090,0:08:35.656
And we could resettle more refugees.

0:08:36.118,0:08:39.291
To give you a sense of the decline[br]in the refugee program:

0:08:39.315,0:08:43.574
three years ago, the US resettled[br]15,000 Syrian refugees

0:08:43.598,0:08:46.237
in response to the largest[br]refugee crisis on earth.

0:08:46.261,0:08:49.378
A year later, that number was 3,000.

0:08:49.402,0:08:52.837
And last year, that number was 62 people.

0:08:54.109,0:08:55.840
62 people.

0:08:56.819,0:09:00.719
Despite the harsh rhetoric[br]and efforts to block immigration,

0:09:00.743,0:09:02.680
keep refugees out of the country,

0:09:02.704,0:09:06.085
support for refugees and immigrants[br]in this country, according to polls,

0:09:06.109,0:09:07.352
has never been higher.

0:09:07.376,0:09:09.317
Organizations like HIAS, where I work,

0:09:09.341,0:09:11.849
and other humanitarian[br]and faith-based organizations,

0:09:11.873,0:09:14.020
make it easy for you to take a stand

0:09:14.044,0:09:16.614
when there's a law that's worth opposing

0:09:16.638,0:09:20.015
or a law that's worth supporting[br]or a policy that needs oversight.

0:09:20.485,0:09:21.836
If you have a phone,

0:09:21.860,0:09:23.183
you can do something,

0:09:23.207,0:09:24.955
and if you want to do more, you can.

0:09:24.979,0:09:28.575
I will tell you that if you see[br]one of these detention centers

0:09:28.599,0:09:29.854
along the border

0:09:29.878,0:09:31.835
with children in them -- they're jails --

0:09:31.849,0:09:33.322
you will never be the same.

0:09:35.320,0:09:37.915
What I loved so much[br]about my call with Ellie

0:09:38.792,0:09:42.648
was that she knew in her core[br]that the stories of her grandparents

0:09:43.537,0:09:45.676
were no different than today's stories,

0:09:45.700,0:09:47.766
and she wanted to do something about it.

0:09:48.974,0:09:51.320
If I leave you with one thing,

0:09:51.344,0:09:53.746
beyond the backstory[br]for Mr. Potato Head,

0:09:53.770,0:09:57.198
which is, of course,[br]a good story to leave with,

0:09:57.222,0:10:01.370
it's that a country shows strength

0:10:02.522,0:10:04.839
through compassion and pragmatism,

0:10:04.863,0:10:06.770
not through force and through fear.

0:10:07.448,0:10:13.441
(Applause)

0:10:17.139,0:10:21.305
These stories of the Hassenfelds[br]and my relatives and your relatives

0:10:21.329,0:10:23.879
are still happening today;[br]they're all the same.

0:10:25.269,0:10:28.546
A country is strong[br]when it says to the refugee,

0:10:28.570,0:10:31.767
not, "Go away," but,

0:10:31.791,0:10:34.608
"It's OK, we've got you, you're safe."

0:10:35.112,0:10:36.275
Thank you.

0:10:36.299,0:10:39.124
(Applause)

0:10:39.148,0:10:40.354
Thanks.

0:10:40.378,0:10:41.739
(Applause)