Speech #1090100523

Mr. Chairman. I rise today in opposition to the misguided Border and Immigration Enforcement Act of 2005. H.R. 4437 is a misguided bill that will further complicate the immigration crisis. We. as a country. have not seen a significant change in immigration policy in nearly two decades. even though all Americans agree that current immigration policy is outdated and malfunctioning. The majority of surveys throughout this Nation show that the American people are advocating for a comprehensive and realistic approach to immigration reform. As Members of Congress we have the responsibility to modemize our laws. to ensure equity. and to learn from the successes and failures of our predecessors. H.R. 4437 fails to meet these standards on all levels. The bill before us today is an insult to the American people who have requested action on the part of their lawmakers. The bill is neither a solution nor even an attempt to understand the immigration crisis. Rather. it is a collaboration of the most destructive proposals in Congress. put forth to promote a false impression that we are working to address the problem. What we are seeing here on the floor today is an unrealistic. unconstitutional bill based on fear. As a Representative from Arizona. I have had first hand experience with the negative impacts created by "securityonly" approaches to the border and immigration. such as is promoted by H.R. 4437. Arizona. my District especially. has been victim to this inadequate approach that ignores the real needs in our communities. For example. this year my District witnessed 262 deaths on its border. yet H.R. 4437 would do nothing to help alleviate this human tragedy. Though Americans continue to ask that Congress create orderly. legal venues for new immigrants and for safe and legal ways in which immigrants already here can declare their presence. H.R. 4437 does not even come close to fulfilling these requests. In fact. it promotes a shadow culture in which immigrants need and want to hide. which then puts our country at a greater security risk. With one hasty line. this bill makes all immigrants criminals. It turns an immigrationlaw violation into an aggravated felony. Thus. legal permanent residents. who initially may have had an unlawful entry but were able to pursue a legal venue thereafter. would be categorized as felons and prevented from becoming U.S. citizens as the current law allows. H.R. 4437 also endangers checks and balances and progress that our Nation has made towards equality. With its expansion of expedited removal programs. H.R. 4437 removes important checks that currently protect against erroneous arrests and deportations. In the realm of civil rights. immigrants that are victim to domestic violence would be discouraged from seeking protection in fear of being charged with an aggravated felony. Furthermore. immigrants dealing with Federal agencies or the judicial system would no longer have the opportunity to appeal. thereby weakening even more checks and balances in our government. I am ashamed of the Republican leadership for bringing this bill to the floor. for ignoring the American people. and for supporting a bill that will expand the immigration crisis. Worse than all the harm that this bill would cause is the fact that it falls to include any of the immigration reforms that Americans have asked for. It includes penalties for employers. but no provisions allowing them to attain needed employees. It criminalizes immigrants. but provides no solutions for a legal venue for entry. As lawmakers. we can do better. We can bring to the floor a comprehensive and realistic approach to immigration that addresses border security. changes to current immigration lawincluding earned legalizationand upholds labor rights for all U.S. employees. be they citizens or foreign born. H.R. 4437 is not this bill. It ignores the need to address societal. economic and national security shortfalls and I encourage my colleagues to denounce this insulting response to the American people and vote "no" on H.R. 4437.