[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 43 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 5, 2006

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of tolerant, 
effective, comprehensive immigration reform.
  Half a million people, if not a million people, marched peacefully in 
Los Angeles to let the Senate know that enforcement and border 
protection-only approach will not solve our broken immigration system. 
300,000 people in Chicago, 40,000 in Washington, DC, and 20,000 in 
Milwaukee and Phoenix marched to defend the hopes and dreams of 
immigrant families. Nearly 40,000 students across Southern California, 
including students at several schools in my district, marched for the 
rights of immigrants.
  I urge my colleagues in this body and in the Senate to listen to the 
message which reverberated across the country and support a tolerant 
and effective immigration policy. We need effective legislation that 
strikes the right balance between national security and reforming our 
current immigration system.
  This should include a path to permanency for the millions of law-
abiding and taxpaying immigrants who call the United States home. It 
should reduce the long lines in the family immigration system to 
promote family unity and include measures to control the future flow of 
immigrants by providing them with legal avenues to live and work in the 
United States.
  Several proposals under consideration by Congress have a different 
approach. Rather than fixing the broken immigration system, they worsen 
the myriad of enforcement only measures which have already been tried 
and which have failed.
  For example, between 1990 and 2000 the size of the border patrol 
tripled, yet the number of undocumented immigrants increased. Between 
1999 and 2004, the number of border agents in the Tucson, Arizona 
sector of the border increased by 56 percent, while the number of 
arrests increased by only 4 percent.
  This enforcement only approach has done nothing to protect our 
Nation's security. It merely encourages immigrants to cross in remote 
areas where it is more difficult to be caught and where they are more 
likely to die. We must secure our borders. We need to know who is 
crossing our borders and living and working in our country for our 
national security. But, enforcement alone will not accomplish this 
goal.
  I hope the U.S. Senate follows the lead of its Judiciary Committee 
and adopts legislation that will truly reform the system and enhance 
our Nation's security.
  I am pleased that the bill approved by the Committee includes the 
DREAM Act. As a member of the California Assembly, I authored the first 
bill to allow in-state tuition for outstanding California students.
  Immigrant families are an important part of our social fabric and our 
economy. Undocumented workers contribute as much as $7 billion a year 
into the Social Security system yet do not collect benefits. They fill 
an increasing share of jobs in labor-scarce regions and fill the types 
of jobs native workers often shun.
  Immigrants and their families serve and sacrifice as members of our 
Nation's Armed Forces. There are more than 35,000 people defending our 
Nation who are not U.S. citizens, and another 28,806 members of the 
military who have become U.S. citizens since the events of 9-11. Since 
September 11, 73 servicemembers have been granted posthumous 
citizenship. One of them, Francisco Martinez Flores of Duarte, was a 
constituent of mine. Their sacrifice is no less important to our 
country because of their immigration status. Undocumented immigrants 
are our neighbors, co-workers, fellow worshipers, and friends. Many of 
them want to stay in America and become full-fledged members of our 
society.
  President Bush said ``Immigration is an important topic. . . . We 
need to maintain our perspective. . . . At its core, immigration is a 
sign of a confident and successful nation.'' I hope the Senate keeps 
this in mind and does not let itself be influenced by the demagogues in 
our media and in Congress.
  As the proud daughter of immigrants, I value America's history of 
treasuring the contributions that immigrants have made to America. For 
generations, immigrants all over the World have been welcomed by the 
Statue of Liberty's message: ``Give me your tired, your poor, your 
huddled masses yearning to breathe free, . . .'' We should not forget 
that our ancestors struggled and yearned for the American dream as much 
as immigrants do today.
  Today, I was pleased to join the Progressive Caucus in sending a 
letter to the Senate asking for real and comprehensive immigration 
reform. I urge my colleagues to adopt legislation which provides a real 
solution for our broken immigration system and reject enforcement-only 
proposals.

                          ____________________