[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H1253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                    COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. I believe that the stimulus package is very important for 
working families. And we must pass this bill on behalf of the American 
people. But our Nation is in desperate need of comprehensive 
immigration reform, as well. Politicians have used the immigration 
issue as white noise for every important bill that is brought up here 
in the House. We can keep dancing around the problems. We need real 
reform with border enforcement that also addresses the 14 million 
undocumented people living here in this country.
  Just yesterday, The Washington Post reported that local counties in 
the area are stepping up their collaboration with ICE. This will only 
be creating more fear and dividing our communities and our families. 
This is why we cannot use a wide brush to paint a solution to deal with 
the immigration issues. We must not forget that we're talking about 
families, not just numbers and statistics.
  I urge my colleagues to help these families and join me in working 
towards real comprehensive immigration reform. I ask President Obama 
and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to address this issue of comprehensive 
immigration.

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