Speech #1140012645

But the logic was always sideways. The very Presidential actions that some in the Republican Party object to are not even funded by the appropriations made by Congress. The criminal background checks and the adjudication of each persons application is paid for in full by fees of $465 for each immigrant. so this was never a logical funding matter. With or without funding for the Department of Homeland Security. the premise that Congress could force the President to deport lowpriority deportees who grew up in the United States or who are the parents of U.S. citizens never held water. Even if people cannot come forward to apply and pass a criminal background check and get to the back of the deportation line. the basic way the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security prioritized deporting criminals. drug dealers. and drunk drivers over moms. dads. and DREAMers. that would not change. Think about it. It is as if the Republicans were saying they are so upset about their obsession with border security and their conviction that the President is not doing enough about border security that they were willing to defund border security in order to make their point. Jon Stewart cant write stuff that good. and he doesnt have to. Here is the biggest reason why it didnt have to come to a shutdown showdown. Republicans in the House could have taken action last year to fix our broken immigration system so that we dont have to continue this fiction about deporting 11 million undocumented workers. They could have had a vote to reform our immigration system so that people can apply for visas and come legally in the first place rather than being forced into the black market where there are smugglers. They could have allowed a vote that put EVerify in place. put serious sanctions and jail time for employers in place. and targeted our enforcement resources on felons. not families. I stood here nearly every week last year and said: If the Republicans failed to act. the President would be forced to act within the limits of current law to rescue American families and target our enforcement resources on criminals. I was right. and for the record. I told you so. using a countdown right here on the House floor. The coalition to pass reform. which is made up of almost all of the Democrats and about a third or more of the Republicansthe same coalition that enacted the bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security in yesterdays voteexisted then. and it exists today. if our leaders are willing to work together to address immigration reform. It is not too late. and I predict that the Republican Party will continue boxing itself into a corner until it addresses this important American priority.