Speech #1050092872

Speaker. today the House rejected by a convincing margin a motion to instruct the conferees on the Commerce. Justice. State appropriations bill. which would have resulted in thousands of legal immigrants being forced to leave the country. I was proud to join with the majority of Members of the House in opposing this proposal. I rise to express my appreciation for the vote today in this body. which represents a victory for fairness and justice. The result here in this Chamber today also shows that this body can work together in a bipartisan fashion on sensible and fair legislation to maintain the integrity of our immigration laws. while still keeping the doors of immigration open to those who play by the rules. Speaking in opposition to the motion offered by the gentleman from California was a diverse crosssection of Members from both sides of the aisle. including both the chairman and the ranking Democrat of the Subcommittee on Commerce. Justice. State and Judiciary Appropriations. as well as the chairman of the Committee on International Relations and the Democratic leader. Speaker after speaker. Democrat and Republican alike. cited the indisputable reasons for opposing the motion to instruct and for supporting permanent extension of Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act in the Commerce. Justice. State and Judiciary Appropriations legislation. Mr. Speaker. as we heard during todays debate. Section 245(i) allows certain immigrants who have fallen out of status to have their papers processed here in the United States in order to become permanent residents. rather than forcing them to return to their home country to apply. Those covered by Section 245(i) must pay a $1.000 fee before obtaining their visa. Last year. these fees generated more than $200 million for the INS. 80. percent of which is earmarked for INS detention purposes. Mr. Speaker. 245(i) does not change the order in which a persons visa is processed. Contrary to the claims made by some during todays debate. it does not give illegal immigrants the right to live in the United States. If we had passed the motion to instruct today. we would have torn families apart and deprived many families of their sole source of support. We would have forced the mother of children who are U.S. citizens to be separated from those children.