[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 10, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H423-H424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REFORMING IMMIGRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Linda T. SANCHEZ) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I am here this 
evening to highlight one of the most important issues facing this 
country and this Congress: how to make our immigration system work for 
us, not against us.
  First of all, I think it is a positive sign that President Bush has 
put forward his proposal to get this debate started again. I wish he 
was as concerned for employees in this country as he is for employers. 
But whatever his motivation, his involvement does put pressure on his 
Republican colleagues in Congress to at least consider taking action to 
address our failed immigration system.
  The Democrats have also put forward their immigration reform 
principles outlining the changes necessary to shape immigration policy 
in this country. The Democratic plan is much more comprehensive, 
compassionate, and concrete. Our principles put a face to the immigrant 
who is trying to build a better life for himself and his family while 
making a better America for all

[[Page H424]]

of us. These 8 million workers are an integral part of our society, and 
reality dictates that we recognize that and find a fair way to 
integrate them fully into our society. We can do this while still 
protecting the labor standards in this country by wage and hour 
enforcements. We need to take our failing immigration system and turn 
it into something that can work for all Americans. And failing it is. 
We have a huge, and I mean a huge, backlog of visa applications pending 
that are preventing husbands from being with their wives and parents 
from being with their children.
  The current delay in reunifying families from the Philippines is 22 
years. Is this a humane system? That is outrageous. Not only do we have 
to speed up the process; we have to make more family and employment 
visas available. This bottleneck needs to be opened up. The first and 
foremost action we should take to fix our immigration system is to 
bring families back together and allow them to be reunified. Sadly, 
however, the Bush proposal does nothing to help solve the problem of 
family reunification.
  Secondly, we need to offer a future to those immigrants who have been 
working in this country for years, have paid their taxes, abided by our 
laws, and contributed to their communities all over this Nation. The 
fact is that they are here now, and they have earned their right to 
stay. While some may not have come through the proper channels, they 
should not be condemned outright for leaving despair and poverty behind 
for a better life. These workers have had a positive impact on this 
country through their contributions, and a guest-worker program alone 
does not even begin to acknowledge this reality.
  Not only does earned legalization take this hidden work force out of 
the shadows, but it provides certainty for employers and hope for the 
employees that they can work towards a meaningful goal: legitimate 
acceptance in the United States. Another reality is that the immigrant 
children of these workers also deserve a place in our society. It is 
only to our benefit that they have access to a good education. They 
should be granted a vehicle for obtaining lawful permanent status and 
qualify for in-state educational benefits and financial aid.
  Again, the Democrats take this into account in the overall debate on 
immigration reform, but the Republican Party chooses to ignore this 
quick and easy change that could go forward right away without further 
delay.
  The Bush administration and the Republican leadership also ignore the 
fact that legislation already exists to expand the current guest-worker 
program. If President Bush is serious about moving forward on 
immigration reform and not just playing election-year politics, he 
should call on the Republican majority in the House to pass the Berman 
Ag Jobs bill. We can get this done now.
  Finally, let us focus our national security efforts on protecting 
this Nation against real terrorist threats instead of using it as an 
excuse to round up 8 million law-abiding workers and kicking them out 
of this country. I do not know about other Members, but I would much 
rather have the Department of Homeland Security knowing the identities 
of the people living here because they are no longer hiding from 
authorities for fear of deportation.
  Let us get real about the immigration dilemma in this country, real 
about the kind of hard-working, sincere people these immigrants are, 
how they have benefited this country, and what it would take to put the 
immigration system back in working order. Let us take our heads out of 
the sand and get to work on real immigration reform. I am serious about 
the work ahead, and I challenge my colleagues in the House to give more 
than lip service to the idea of meaningful immigration reform.

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