Mr. Chairman. let me thank the gentleman for yielding me the time and for his leadership and for making sure that we in this entire country understand what this socalled immigration reform bill is really about. I rise in strong opposition to this bill. At best. this legislation is unbalanced. it is harsh. and it is unfair. Quite frankly. I think it is very unAmerican. It criminalizes millions of hardworking people simply for being undocumented. It would turn local law enforcement into deputies of the border patrol. and innocent people will be needlessly scrutinized and jailed. I can only imagine how this irresponsible provision will affect racial profiling of Hispanics and other minorities. This bill also ignores due process and would expand the governments ability to keep noncitizens locked up behind bars if they cannot be deported to their native countries. Jailed immigrants will lose the ability to appeal a deportation order. Mr. Chairman. these are only a few of the reasons why this bill really makes no sense for our great country. Let us address the real issues of immigration reform that include a clear path to citizenship and commonsense protections for our borders. We need full immigration initiatives that make sense. not these very punitive and very unAmerican provisions that are included in this bill. We cannot. and we must not. forget the undeniable history. our history. American history. that we have as a nation of immigrants and the contribution that immigrants have had on our economy. on our diversity and our way of life. This bill. quite frankly. just flies in the face of that history. and it should be rejected. Mr.
Keywords matched
undocumented deported immigration immigrants noncitizens border patrol deportation