[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         KEEP FAMILIES TOGETHER

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                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 2009

  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about a very 
important bill that I just re-introduced, the Keeping Families Together 
Act of 2009 (H.R. 938). This bill would reinstate judicial review to 
the immigration process, end the practice of automatically detaining 
productive members of our society for minor crimes they committed years 
ago and for which they have already served with their sentence, and 
allow immigrants previously deported to appeal that decision.
  This law has allowed stable, long-term families headed by legal 
immigrants to be torn apart because of minor crimes committed years 
ago--crimes for which the offender has already served their sentence!
  You may recall that a basic legislative attempt to fix this law was 
passed by the House of Representatives in the 106th Congress, but it 
was never taken up by the Senate. The time has come to reverse the 
unfair so-called ``immigration reforms'' instituted by the Illegal 
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
  Please join me in supporting this critical legislation to restore 
justice to our immigration process, by co-sponsoring the Keeping 
Families Together Act of 2009.

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