PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Pastor, please
PASTOR RAMIRO PEÑA: Well, thank you Mr. President first for coming to Texas again and for supporting the Rio Grande Valley.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you
PASTOR PEÑA: I especially want to thank you for calling this what it is: a humanitarian crisis. When you use that language it really sets bells to ringing, because that is what it is. People in my profession see the suffering, the human suffering, brought by drugs, by the arms that are brought across making our communities more violent, the trafficking of women and children especially, and boys and young males as well. And the truth that needs to be talked about, that is seldom talked about, is the amount of under-reporting of crime. When these things happen in the shadows people are not always eager to point out the crimes that are taking place, and it goes under-reported. But people in my profession, especially Spanish-speaking pastors, especially Spanish-speaking pastors in this sector, know firsthand the human suffering, the human toll that’s taking place because of the onslaught. The sickness, the disease, the lack of sanitation that’s going on because of the bunch-up at the border, and people trying to come in. So I just want to give a very heartfelt thanks because I have had the privilege of visiting with you before. I know your heart of compassion. Although some don’t want to paint you as having a heart of compassion, I know you as a man that does have this heart of compassion. It’s genuine and authentic, and the fact that you called it what it is: it’s a crisis and a humanitarian crisis, and again the pastors that I’m here representing today salute you and thank you for wanting to bring an end to untold suffering that’s taking place on our southern border. Thank you, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you, Pastor. Very nice, good to see you again. Appreciate it. Thank you.