[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4475-H4476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IMMIGRATION REFORM EMPHASIZING FAMILY VALUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to talk about family 
values and creating an immigration system that better values families, 
a system that keeps families strong and, most importantly, keeps them 
together.
  I know the issue of family values is a top priority for the President 
and for many in this Chamber, but when it comes to the issue of 
immigration, I am afraid our Nation's efforts to protect families, to 
keep mothers and fathers, parents and children together has fallen far 
short.
  So let me begin this evening by highlighting an example of the tragic 
consequences of our failed immigration policies and its disastrous and 
often destructive affects on hard-working families in my district.
  Meet the Benitez family. Rodolfo Benitez is a supervisor at the Civic 
Opera House's Tower Club. He is a U.S. citizen who works extremely hard 
so his children in the picture, who are also citizens, can get a good 
education and can realize all that our country has to offer. They are a 
great family. They are active and well-liked, respected in their 
community. And if you ever get a chance to meet Rodolfo, Jr., Brenda, 
Andrea, and their new baby, Eric, you will quickly realize that they 
are all we could wish for in children.
  But, Mr. Speaker, while this story may appear on the surface to have 
all the makings of the American dream, our Nation's convoluted 
immigration laws are making life a nightmare for the Benitez family, 
because about a year ago, Rodolfo's wife Maria was deported without 
time to even get her life in order. As the Chicago Tribune wrote, ``Her 
school-age children, who returned home one day with the panicked 
question: 'Where's mommy?' ''
  As parents, can anyone in this body imagine having to answer that 
question? Can anyone in this body imagine explaining to these 
beautiful, young children that their 4-month pregnant mother was being 
deported 2 days before Mother's Day with barely enough time to kiss her 
children goodbye? Can you imagine telling your children that they will 
not have the opportunity to see their new baby brother when he is born, 
because the Government of the United States and its immigration policy 
says, we are going to deport her? It is simply heart-wrenching.
  But in cities and small towns across our country, there are thousands 
of families facing the exact same situation as the Benitez family, 
because too often, our immigration system tears families apart, leaving 
single parents to fend for themselves and leaving children to grow up 
without a loving mother or father. Too often their stories are never 
told, and defenseless children and parents are forced to suffer in 
silence.
  In the case of Mrs. Benitez, we were fortunate enough to get her a 
temporary visa to return from Mexico to the United States so she could 
receive proper prenatal care and ensure that there were no 
complications with her pregnancy, but that visa expires this summer, 
and, after that, our immigration system, our law enforcement system 
will take Mrs. Benitez back to Mexico and take her away from her 
American citizen children and her American citizen husband. Who in this 
body can say that is right?

[[Page H4476]]

  No family should ever be faced with these questions. No mother or 
father should be faced with this pain and anguish. No family should be 
forced to compromise their values.
  Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask the President and this body not to 
remove Mrs. Benitez, Maria Benitez, from her American citizen husband, 
her children, and her community. I respectfully ask that we do 
everything in our power to allow her the opportunity to remain a full 
and productive member of the United States of America. For the sake of 
the Benitez family and for the sake of millions of others in similar 
situations, let us work in a bipartisan fashion toward a much-needed, 
comprehensive, family-driven immigration policy in this country, 
because we need a system that allows people to come out of the shadows 
and work here legally, safely, and humanely. We need a system that 
regulates the future flow of workers so that it greatly enhances our 
border security through a combination of cutting-edge technology, 
improved cooperation, and increased resources.

                              {time}  1800

  We need an immigration system that deals directly with the 
undocumented who are living, working, and contributing to a better and 
more dynamic America. We need a system that is tough and enforceable. 
We need a system that would eliminate the exploitation and abuses that 
are part of our underground economy.
  Mr. Speaker, let us work together to create an immigration system 
that works for families, works for businesses, works for our community 
and does not take families like the Benitez family, and I want to 
reiterate, there are ten of thousands in the United States of America, 
American citizen husbands and American citizen wives being separated 
from spouses and from their American citizen children. Let us have real 
family values. Let us have an immigration system that keeps families 
united and together.

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