Speech #1040267307

Mr. Speaker. I rise to voice my strong opposition to this socalled immigration reform bill. There must be some confusion over what immigration actually means. over what immigration actually is. The dictionary defines immigration as "coming into a country of which one is not a native resident." Basic logic tells us that any attempt to reform immigration should address those issues that directly relate to immigration: strict border control. effective verification of citizenship. and penalizing those businesses and industries who knowingly employ undocumented immigrants. Most Americans would agree with those goals. But this bill goes way beyond these sensible. logical goals. Instead. it attacks the very principles upon which this country was founded. Americas Founding Fathers built this country on the principles of fairness and equality. on honoring the law and creating safeguards against any kind of discrimination. Throughout history. our country has welcomed those immigrants who play by the rules. pay their taxes. and contribute to our cherished diversity. But this bill ignores those traditions and attacks the very people who we say are welcomelegal immigrants. The welfare bill effectively stripped legal residents of many safeguards. and this bill goes on to clean up what the welfare bill missed. Under this bill. legal immigrants who enter the country and begin the process of living the life of an American resident would lose the protections guaranteed by the Constitution. Employers would be given the goahead to discriminate by a bill that does not enforce current immigration requirements and citizenship verification. Employers would be allowed to exploit workers by weakening civil rights protections and gutting wage and law enforcement. This bill is not about immigration reform. its about punishing women and children who play by the rules and represent the very best in our country. Most legal immigrants work hard for low to moderate wages. with little or no health insurance. Should the family need Federal assistance. too bad. Because if one of these workers ends up in the hospital and cannot pay his bill. and the sponsor cannot pay his bill. that worker will be deported. Never mind that he has been paying taxes for the past few years. Suddenly. it just doesnt matter that he has contributed to our economy and has followed our laws.