[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4830, BORDER TUNNEL PREVENTION ACT 
 OF 2006; FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6094, COMMUNITY PROTECTION ACT OF 
 2006; AND FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6095, IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT 
                              ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2006

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to 
H.R. 6095--the Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006--and H.R. 6094--
the Community Protection Act. Like my colleagues, I am firmly committed 
to protecting our borders and strengthening our immigration policies. 
However, these bills do neither.
  Instead of a comprehensive immigration reform bill that provides real 
security to our Nation's borders, these bills are band aids with 
harmful provisions that will not make us safer or fix our broken 
immigration system.
  For example, the Immigration Law Enforcement Act will empower state 
and local police to enforce immigration laws. This provision, which is 
opposed by state and local officials, will take valuable time and 
resources away from urgent police responsibilities, weakening their 
ability to respond to serious crimes such as murder, rape, and gang 
activity. State and local law enforcement officials are also opposed to 
the legislation because this provision will break down any trust that 
has been established between the police and local communities and will 
deter immigrants from reporting crimes or talking to state and local 
officials, for fear that their immigration status or that of a loved 
one could come under scrutiny. As a result, crimes and dangerous 
situations will go unreported, allowing criminals to roam free, and 
make us all less safe. Dealing with our Nation's immigration issues 
should remain the responsibility of the federal Department of Homeland 
Security.

  The Community Protection Act would also permit the indefinite and 
permanent detention of noncitizens, who through no fault of their own, 
cannot be deported. This includes asylum seekers fleeing persecution 
from countries such as Iran, North Korea and Vietnam. Mr. Speaker, our 
government already has clear authority to detain immigrants and seek 
prolonged detention of suspected immigrants; it is inhumane and 
dangerous to our democracy and the rule of law to grant the government 
nearly unrestricted authority to lock up indefinitely individuals who 
are not serving a criminal sentence.
  Finally, the Community Protection Act renders deportable a noncitizen 
whom the government only suspects to be a gang member. I strongly 
support efforts to deport criminal aliens out of our country and our 
efforts to combat gang violence, which threatens communities throughout 
the country. My objection to this bill is that it makes people 
deportable who have never committed a crime, but are merely considered 
by DHS to be a member of a group deemed by the Attorney General to be 
bad. This makes it possible for immigrants to be deported with little 
or no opportunity to defend themselves even in the case of guilt by 
association. Mr. Speaker, this bill is unnecessary because our 
government can already deport gang members, or any other foreign 
national convicted of an aggravated felony, or a misdemeanor such as 
shoplifting.
  If we are truly to protect our borders and address our immigration 
issues, Congress must resolve the differences between the House and 
Senate passed immigration bills and pass comprehensive immigration and 
border protection legislation. No one can deny that our borders need 
protection or that our immigration system is broken and that it is in 
serious need of overhaul. These bills do nothing to effectively address 
these critical issues.
  It is unfortunate that as serious as our border and immigration 
problems are these bills ignore the real solutions necessary to 
effectively address our legitimate immigration and border problems. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in defeating these two bills.

                          ____________________