“It’s not just about having a heart; it’s about having a soul,” Pelosi said after the children finished testifying. “And the soul of our country is about respecting the dignity and worth of every person. The soul of our country is about giving every person access to rights who is in our country.”

Pelosi noted that sending the children back to their home countries would be like sending them “back into a burning building.”

She again compared the children to the baby Jesus, who fled his home country as an infant to escape violence.