Speech #1090173347

Mr. Speaker. how long will the Republican Majority continue to bring to this House Floor piecemeal legislation that purports to fix the immigration crisis in our country? H.R. 4830. H.R. 6094 and H.R. 6095 are not real reform. In fact. these bills are largely a repacking of previously enacted bills dressed up to look like the Republicans are serious about immigration reform. Higher monetary and sentencing penalties. more enforcement and the usurping of du process are all tactics that have been tried throughout the years and have brought us to the situation we find ourselves today. The American people are being duped into thinking these three Republican bills will prevent illegal immigrants from entering our country. I cannot in good conscience vote for these three bills not because I dont want to stop illegal immigration but because they are hollow authorizations without any funding to implement them. What we should be voting on and what I would support is the implementation of the 9/11 Commission immigration recommendations which I have voted for seven times in Committee or on the Floor. Those seven votes would have authorized and funded thousands of new immigration agents and detention beds. Instead we are voting to impose a HUGE unfunded mandate in our local law enforcement by deputizing them to be first line immigration officers. If the leadership in the House and Senate want real immigration reform. they need to fully fund all the immigration agents. detention officers as called for by the 9/11 Commission report. I do not support illegal immigration and believe that anyone who enters the US in violation of U.S. immigration laws should be penalized. But our country is in need of an immigration policy that accounts for the fears 9/11 instilled. in addition to the hope that immigrants bring to our nation. Immigration reform should include family reunification. asylum and refugee admissions. and employmentbased immigration. It must be compassionate and humanitarian and strike the delicate balance between American jobs. border safety and national security interests. H.R. 4830.