[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 37 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. I rise today to highlight some of the unique immigration 
challenges that we face. The good news is that Washington is finally 
focused on fixing this very complex issue. Comprehensive reform is 
crucial to our families, young people, and our economy.
  In Hawaii, for example, Filipino families often wait up to 24 years 
to reunite with their loved ones. We are a community of immigrants--
immigrants who came to Hawaii who were seeking greater opportunity, who 
toiled day in and day out working in our pineapple fields and on our 
sugar plantations; yet many are still waiting to be reunited with their 
loved ones. This is unacceptable and unnecessary. It also hurts our 
economy when small businesses face unnecessary, draconian audits and 
automatic labeling as fraudulent businesses simply due to their sizes, 
stifling their ability to grow and create jobs.
  We must address these unique immigration issues in Hawaii, across the 
Pacific, and across the country as part of our national reform 
legislation in order to reunite families and grow our economy.

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