[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I am touched by the unwavering spirit of the 
American people during these tough economic times. We continue to work 
hard and last week we all paid our taxes. In fact, thousands of 
immigrants also paid into our tax system through payroll taxes and 
sales taxes.
  There are 12 to 14 million undocumented immigrants that are living 
and working in this Nation trying to build a better life for their 
families. I state, a better life for their families. We cannot forget 
that this country was founded by immigrants who prayed for a better 
life and who were willing to work hard to make it happen.
  By providing a path to citizenship, it is estimated that new legal 
immigrants would provide $407 billion to strengthen the Social Security 
system over the next 50 years. We must bring this working population 
out from the shadows and allow them to become active contributing 
members of our society.
  I urge my colleagues to work with the CHC and President Obama to 
support comprehensive immigration reform that will fix our economy and 
respect all families.

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