Congressional Record, Volume 159 Issue 161 (Wednesday, November 13, 2013)

[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 161 (Wednesday, November 13, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7040-H7046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

IMMIGRATION REFORM

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. POLIS. I thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Before I get to my remarks, I briefly want to address the nuclear
proliferation issue in Iran. The gentlelady from Minnesota, as well as
myself, and the vast majority of Members of this body, have been
supportive of crippling sanctions against Iran. Many of us believe that
that has helped drive Iran to the negotiating table.
We hope for, of course, a peaceful outcome that takes nuclear weapons
off the table and prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons; and, of
course, we continue to keep the use of force on the table if our
diplomatic solution fails to be enacted that reaches President Obama's
objective of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The issue has had strong bipartisan support, nearly unanimous, here
in this Chamber, with regard to continuing the pressure on Iran to
rejoin the responsible nations and renounce the acquisition of nuclear
weapons.
But I am here today to talk about something closer to home, Mr.
Speaker, in fact, at home, Mr. Speaker, namely, the need to act on
immigration reform. It has been 138 days since the Senate passed a
commonsense bipartisan immigration reform bill. I was proud to be part
of a bipartisan group of Members here in the House that introduced H.R.
15, a companion bill to the Senate's immigration reform bill that makes
additional improvements on outcome-based border enforcement and would
address our broken immigration system and replace it with one that
reflects our values as Americans, helps create jobs here at home,
reduces our deficit by over $100 billion, and restores the rule of law
here in our country, which is currently being undermined by the
presence of 10 million, 15 million, 8 million--nobody knows how many
people are here illegally.
The issue will not resolve itself, Mr. Speaker. I call upon this body
to act immediately and bring to the floor H.R. 15 and pass
comprehensive immigration reform.
Later on in my remarks, given that this is the week of Veterans Day,
I will be talking about the contributions that many members of our
military have made who are from immigrant backgrounds, including the
talent that our military is missing out on today, including DACA, or
deferred action recipients, who are able to work legally in our
country, but are not allowed to serve in our military.
H.R. 15 would solve that issue, and we will be talking about the many
contributions that immigrants have made and continue to make with
regards to our military.
My colleague, Mr. Tonko from New York, is here; and I would be happy
to yield to him for a moment.
Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Representative
Polis, for bringing us together for what I believe is very thoughtful
discussion about immigration reform, for we are by definition a Nation
of immigrants.
I believe that the passion that is the luring card to America is that
American Dream. People for decades and centuries throughout the history
of this Nation have pursued that American Dream with the opportunity to
climb those economic ladders, those opportunities that present
themselves in this country, where we are emboldened by immigrants; and
certainly the military is no exception.
Tonight, we will be talking about the empowerment that comes with
H.R. 15,

[[Page H7041]]

which is a very thoughtful piece of legislation. I am a cosponsor on
that legislation. I believe it is important for us to follow suit that
the bipartisan spirit in the Senate has already initiated.
The opportunities for us to allow for, some suggest, 11 million, if
not more, immigrants to pursue that path to citizenship is an
empowerment tool. It is great for our economic recovery. As was
mentioned by Representative Polis, it provides for a great dent in our
deficit. It allows for us over the 20 years to come to experience tens
of billions of reduction in the deficit, which is no short feat to be
ignored. It is important for us to understand the economic vitality
that sound immigration reform produces for this Nation.
We are in need of many of the skill sets that our immigrants bring.
You talk to the agriculture industry and those skill sets are there.
You talk to the medical industry, you talk to the engineers that are
required in this Nation, and many immigrants are assuming those roles.
So it is important.
We look at the tremendous history in this Nation of the military, the
empowerment that came to this Nation, that comes to this Nation as we
speak. There are our daughters and sons on the battlefield protecting
our liberties, promoting our freedoms in this Nation to freedom-loving
nations around the world.
There has been an awesome sector within that military force that
either is immigrants or those who are residing in this country and are
not yet United States citizens. They have made a statement in the
military history of this Nation. They have made a very strong statement
of support of this Nation and all for which she stands. They have
defended the banner that unites us as the United States flag. They have
certainly made their mark.
As of 2009, I am informed that there are some 114,000-plus foreign-
born individuals serving in the military. Twelve percent of them were
not even United States citizens. So it makes a very powerful statement.
I am a grandson of immigrants. My grandfather, William Tonko, served
in World War I. I am proud of that history that he helped to write. He
did that as an immigrant coming to this Nation, understanding that as
he left Poland that there would be this American Dream that he could
pursue.
My colleague made mention of the DREAMers--a tremendous bit of
nomenclature that we put on to people who were born here, perhaps, or
came as youngsters and are denied opportunities.
We have within the context of H.R. 15 the opportunity to empower
DREAMers. They are allowed with certain programming now that we have
with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, with that program they
are enabled to, perhaps, get a reprieve from deportation or be able to
secure a work permit; but they cannot serve in this Nation's military.
H.R. 15 would empower the DREAMers, people who know no other country,
who have been raised here and want to serve but cannot.
There are great improvements made in H.R. 15. I am proud to stand
here with my colleagues who will speak in support of H.R. 15. It, I
believe, provides a shot in the arm for our economic recovery. It
provides military strength, as has been proven throughout our history.
Twenty percent of all Medal of Honor recipients have been immigrant
servicemembers.
The track record is there. The data are speaking to the empowerment
that comes to the military with those who have that passion. That
passion of immigrants, that passion of naturalized citizens, that whole
effort of those who are looking to be naturalized, believing in this
Nation and all for which she stands is a tremendous statement of who we
are as a Nation and our definition as a clustering of immigrants with
this quilt work of Americana that allows for the economic climb for the
opportunities, the ladders of opportunity, called the American Dream.''
That is the passion that fills our hearts and souls. They have given
to this military, they have given to the fight for freedom, they have
given to the fight to protect our liberties. H.R. 15 goes a long way to
recognize that and further strengthen this Nation.
I am happy to join my colleagues tonight in support of H.R. 15.
Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from New York for his leadership on
the immigration reform issue and his impassioned words.
We also have with us this evening one of the original cosponsors of
H.R. 15, a leader on immigration reform, the gentlelady from
Washington, Ms. DelBene.

{time} 1845

Ms. DelBENE. This is an important moment for immigration reform. My
district in Washington State is very representative of why we need
reform. We have a northern border and a diverse economy with a rich
agricultural industry, including dairy and berry farmers. In the
southern part of my district, there are some of the world's most
innovative companies, including technology, advanced manufacturing,
biotech, and countless startups. These businesses have been making the
case that fixing our immigration system must be a top priority for our
economy.
Whether it is an ultrasound manufacturer who needs an acoustic
engineer or a video game developer looking for a 3-D modeler, companies
in my district are in need of specialized high-skilled workers. We have
to ensure that foreign graduate students can stay here to start new
companies or support ongoing research that will lead to future
breakthroughs in many areas.
Also, farmers need immigration reform in order to find a stable,
skilled, and reliable workforce to help us grow our food and our
economy.
That's why I helped lead the introduction of H.R. 15. This is a
bipartisan bill with 190 cosponsors. In light of Veterans Day earlier
this week, I can think of no better way to honor our Active Duty
military servicemembers who are immigrants--currently, there are more
than 65,000 immigrants, or 5 percent of the force--than by taking
action on immigration reform.
Unless Congress takes action, there are many DREAMers who were
brought here as children and are undocumented who want to serve their
country but cannot do so as the military can currently only enlist
people who have legal status.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that we talked
about earlier that the administration announced last year allows many
DREAMers to apply for a reprieve from deportation and a work permit,
but it does not confer legal status, which means that recipients of
this deferred action remain ineligible to serve.
The American people want our broken immigration system fixed, and
they are tired of congressional inaction. The time to act is now, and I
join my colleagues in asking us to act as quickly as possible.
Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentlelady from Washington for her leadership
on this issue. This body's continual refusal to act on immigration
reform sadly comes at a tremendous cost to our country and to our
security as a Nation.
The financial costs, according to the CBO--it is estimated that the
Senate bill would reduce our deficit by over $135 billion, grow
millions of new jobs, and boost our economy.
In fact, in the 4 months since the Senate bill was passed, we have
already missed over $5 billion in revenue and tens of thousands of
jobs, jobs that Americans could use that have not been created, that
don't exist today, because of this body's failure to act.
In the spirit of Veterans Day, it is important to highlight the
tradition of military service that the gentleman from New York and the
gentlelady from Washington talked about. At a time when the military is
facing recruitment issues, making sure we have the very best men and
women to wear our uniform and defend our Nation, many individuals who
fall under the deferred action program are not allowed to serve in our
military. We are talking about DREAMers, young people who grew up here,
might have been here since 2 or 5, and know no other country, are as
American as you or I, many of whom want to give back, want to risk
their life to protect their country, the only country they know, the
country that they love, and yet, the military is not allowed to recruit
them, and they are not allowed to serve.
It has been estimated that more than 30,000 young immigrants would
join the military and qualify for legal status if we passed
comprehensive immigration

[[Page H7042]]

reform. Key provisions of H.R. 15, our immigration reform bill, would
have important and lasting benefits for our Armed Forces, and it has
broad support from the military.
For example, the bill would allow deferred action childhood arrivals
to enlist in all branches of the U.S. military, including the National
Guard, and be provided with an expedited path to citizenship in
recognition of their service to our great Nation.
Many immigrant servicemembers have become exemplary soldiers. Until
2009, only citizens and permanent residents were allowed to serve. In
2009, the Department of Defense introduced the Military Accessions
Vital to the National Interest program, which allowed visa holders with
high-level skills to enlist in the military and earn U.S. citizenship
through their service.
We are fortunate as a Nation to have talented and hardworking
immigrants who want to serve in the military, but this opportunity
today is largely restricted to special visas for medical professionals
and language experts. While that improves the security of our country,
it would be improved even more by passing H.R. 15 to benefit from the
great potential and the tens of thousands of would-be servicemembers
who are asking to give back to our country, who are asking to put their
lives on the line to defend the country they love, the country they
know, the country that they want to serve. Millions of aspiring
Americans who want nothing more than to pay their fair share, who want
nothing more than to give back to our country, to make our country
stronger.
It is time for us to find a way for DREAMers, for hundreds of
thousands of other talented people, to pursue their dreams in the only
country they know. Whether their dreams take them to the front lines of
combat defending our Nation or to the front lines of competitive jobs
in the private sector, or to other forms of public service, failure to
take action only perpetuates an underground economy in which our Nation
fails to benefit from the great depth of human capital and talent that
resides in immigrants that are already here, are already in many cases
working, and already in many cases are contributing members of the
communities that they live in. It is simply a matter of formalizing
that process and restoring the rule of law so that we have a legal way
of facilitating the flow of immigrants to our country.
I can reconcile that we are both a Nation of immigrants and a Nation
of laws. Those two values that we have as Americans, a Nation of
immigrants and a Nation of laws, far from being mutually exclusive, are
complementary. H.R. 15 and the comprehensive Senate bill honor that
tradition. That is why more than 70 percent of the American people
support comprehensive immigration reform. It is why I am confident, Mr.
Speaker, that placed before the floor of this House, H.R. 15 would pass
today, would pass tomorrow, would pass next week.
I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Goodlatte, as well as the chair of
the Rules Committee, Mr. Sessions, yesterday in the Rules Committee
what the plan was for immigration reform, why we were bringing forth
bills with regard to asbestos, a legitimate problem to be sure, a bill
that has passed this Chamber before, and a bill that will not likely be
taken up by the Senate, but a bill that comes under the jurisdiction of
the Judiciary Committee, why are we spending days and days debating
this bill rather than actually solving a problem of immigration reform.
Mr. Speaker, I know there are victims of asbestos poisoning, I know
there are companies that want to resolve this issue, but I can tell you
honestly, I haven't heard from any constituents who called my office
begging Congress to take up asbestos reform. It is an issue; we should
deal with it. I hope there is a bipartisan approach. But not one, not
one of my constituents, last week, last month, last year, not one,
called my office and said: We demand action. We demand action on
asbestos reform.

Not one. Thousands--thousands--not only have called my office, have
attended rallies in my office. I have never had thousands of people
with the archbishop, with my good friend from Chicago, Luis Gutierrez,
who joined us in my district, thousands packed a church for immigration
reform. Thousands packed a church for immigration reform. Not one call,
not one phone call, not one email, asking Congress to pass asbestos
reform. A thousand people in an afternoon. We had to close off
promotion because it filled up so much, not to mention the thousands if
not tens of thousands of emails and phone calls and letters saying,
solve this issue. Solve this issue, Congressman. Solve this issue,
Congress; we don't like the fact that there are 10 million people here
illegally. We don't like that we dishonor the rule of law. I don't like
the fact that my cousin is in detention and might be deported even
though he has American kids to support. I don't like that.
You know what, Mr. Speaker? When we consider how unpopular this
Congress is, it is no wonder that instead of acting on issues that
Americans care about, we are discussing issues that, yes, we can
discuss, of course, spend a day, spend 2 days. Are they going anywhere?
I don't know, but issues that I haven't heard about. I certainly
haven't had a church with thousands of people in my district calling
for that issue. That's why we need to act.
Mr. TONKO. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. POLIS. I am happy to yield.
Mr. TONKO. The gentleman from Colorado speaks of the tremendous
support of the American public to do immigration reform. I think it is
very easy to understand. It is explained by the deep-routed sense of
heritage in this Nation for everyone. Many of us can identify with
immigrant roots. I believe that is what drives the desire to have this
reform put into play. We talk about the overwhelming polls for support
for this effort, and we are halfway through this battle because the
Senate has made a major statement with the measure that they have
brought forth, and so we can meet that opportunity here in the House of
Representatives.
Earlier, the gentleman from Colorado talked about the military
strength that comes with immigrants, and cited many of the facts that
really speak favorably to the shot in the arm that they give the
military. We think of some of those unique skills that they bring to
the military as the immigrant servicemembers. We talk about the
opportunity to draw upon their second language proficiency. That is
very important in service to the military. Certainly their greater
cultural understanding, which is again a benefit that is borne by the
military because of immigrants or those looking in some way at some
time to be naturalized. They could join the military and provide that
strength. We have a long history of decorated service, with 20 percent
of all Medal of Honor recipients having been immigrant servicemembers.
The list goes on and on. There is a lower attrition rate. There is
proven data that are available.
So this is a powerful statement, and when we think about the heritage
of this Nation, when we think about that American quilt, there are so
many patches brought together under one common banner of different
cultures, of races, of nationalities, that really make a statement of
who we are. So this is just a natural move forward to have an
immigration reform policy developed here this year in Congress.
Mr. POLIS. I would ask the gentleman from New York, just to make sure
my district isn't atypical, have you gotten more letters or calls about
the need to take up asbestos reform or immigration reform?
Mr. TONKO. We have had many, many requests to move with immigration
reform. It is one of the greatest bits of requests that we get.
Mr. POLIS. Not to put you on the spot, but would you say it is more
or less than people who have demanded that Congress act on asbestos
reform?
Mr. TONKO. It is much more.
Mr. POLIS. So your district is similar to mine in that respect.
Mr. TONKO. You are absolutely right. These are very legitimate,
justified issues to talk about, but when it comes to immigration
reform, people are saying: Look, let's get this done. We have many
people who are developing great intellectual skills, they are getting
great higher ed opportunities, and we are not taking advantage of that.
We are not incorporating them into the American peoplescape. We

[[Page H7043]]

have people who are assisting the agricultural industry, the
engineering industry, the technical industry, the innovation economy,
the medical health care industry, people need to fill these efforts
with this immigrant power that is available.
It is great to join you on the floor. I know there are many who want
to speak their voice here, and rightfully so, because this is a very
pertinent issue right now. Reform is very much required, and let's get
it done.
Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman.
Mr. Speaker, I have a letter to submit to the Record from the
Evangelical Immigration Table, and to quote in part, the Evangelical
Immigration Table and the faith-based community, with strong support
from the Catholic Church as well as from evangelical churches across
the spectrum, have been strong supporters of immigration reform, from
the pews and here in the Halls of Congress. The Evangelical Immigration
Table endorsed value-driven immigration reform that respects the God-
given dignity of every person, protects the unity of the immediate
family, respects the rule of law, guarantees secure national borders,
ensures fairness to taxpayers, and establishes a path toward legal
status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and those who wish to
become permanent residents. I am proud to say that H.R. 15 honors the
values of evangelical leaders, of Catholic leaders, of Jewish leaders,
of Muslim leaders, of Americans across the faith spectrum, ensuring
that our values as Americans and as people of faith are reflected in
our immigration system.

Dear Representative, The time has come to fix our broken
immigration system. We are pleased that the Judiciary and
Homeland Security Committees have worked on several bills
each addressing a part of the immigration reform puzzle. As
leaders of evangelical churches and organizations we write to
offer our support and encourage further bipartisan
cooperation towards enacting common sense immigration reform.
Evangelical leaders from across the country came together
in June 2012 to form the Evangelical Immigration Table. The
Table has issued broad principles for reform, which have been
endorsed by prominent evangelical pastors, denominational
heads, leaders of national parachurch ministries, and
university and seminary presidents. We are working across the
country to educate and mobilize our fellow evangelical
Christians in support of a just and fair bipartisan policy
solution to immigration that:
Respects the God-given dignity of every person,
Protects the unity of the immediate family,
Respects the rule of law,
Guarantees secure national borders,
Ensures fairness to taxpayers, and
Establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship
for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent
residents.
We applaud the significant progress toward legislation that
would secure our borders, marshal additional resources for
border enforcement and internal enforcement, and require the
Department of Homeland Security to submit, implement and
report on a detailed border security plan. The bills take
steps to elevate respect for the rule of law--strengthening
E-Verify, establishing a legal guest worker program for
agricultural workers, a more workable program for science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) visas, and increasing
passport and visa security. We are encouraged by reports of
other bills being drafted that would address the need for
more low skill visas and the legal status of children,
adults, and asylees; addressing these needs is vital to
fixing all the components of the current system.
The work the House has done on immigration reform thus far
is commendable. However, we remain concerned about several
provisions of H.R. 2278, The Strengthen and Fortify
Enforcement Act (SAFE Act), that could have unintended
consequences adversely affecting religious communities, law
enforcement agencies, and the people they are called to
serve. The SAFE Act, in its current form, criminalizes
unlawful presence and includes broad prohibitions on
``harboring'' undocumented immigrants that could make
criminals of the family members of undocumented immigrants
and others, including fellow church members, who assist them
with everyday activities. This is a significant problem for
our pastors, faith leaders and others in our community, who
as an extension of their faith, care in tangible ways for the
immigrants (regardless of status) within their community.
Pastors, faith leaders and others in our communities should
not have to decide between following the law and giving water
to a thirsty traveler in the desert, providing food to those
who are hungry or giving rides to church for those without
transportation. While collaboration and communication between
federal, state, and local law enforcement is an essential
part of effective policing, it must be structured in a way
that fosters buy-in from those agencies and does not
compromise their rapport and cooperation with immigrant
communities.
As you continue to work towards a complete legislative
solution for immigration reform, you and your staff are in
our prayers. We appreciate the complexity of designing a
system that meets our country's needs and that can meet with
broad public acceptance. Through Bible reading, prayer, and
public education campaigns we have mobilized a broad base of
evangelical support for immigration reform. But while
Congress debates reform proposals, immigrant families and
workers continue to suffer under our broken system. Now it is
time to finish the job. Please prioritize work to finalize
immigration reform legislation this year.
May God bless you and your staff in the days ahead.
Sincerely,
The Evangelical Immigration Table

{time} 1900

I now yield to the original sponsor of H.R. 15, a leader in this
House on the fight for immigration reform, the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Garcia).
Mr. GARCIA. I would like to thank the gentleman from Colorado.
Madam Speaker, every day thousands of Americans risk their lives for
our Nation, despite the fact that our broken immigration system rips
them apart, rips their families apart by deporting their mothers,
fathers, siblings, and spouses.
In my home State of Florida, Rita Cote, the wife of a gulf war
veteran, was detained by local law enforcement when she was translating
between police and her sister, her sister who had been a victim of
domestic violence. Instead of arresting her sister's assailant, Rita
was held without a warrant, without being charged, and without seeing a
judge for 7 days before being transferred to ICE custody.
This is the spouse of a veteran, of someone who is serving in our
Armed Forces. No one deserve this treatment, but certainly not someone
who has faced the challenges of being a military spouse. Our Nation's
veterans were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect us. The
least we could do is protect their families.
At the same time, there are thousands of young people who would give
anything to defend our country, the only country they have ever known.
While these individuals with green cards cannot serve in the military
because DACA doesn't allow for it, they are willing to do it; yet we do
not allow it. These kids are an asset to our Nation, and it is simply
bad policy to turn them away.
Since 2002, almost 90,000 military servicemembers have become
citizens. We should be welcoming them with open arms. All of those
willing to fight and risk their lives for our great Nation deserve that
respect.
This is an issue that underscores the urgency with which we must pass
immigration reform. Fixing our immigration system isn't about justice
and fairness. It is about enhancing our national security and military
readiness.
There are enough Members in the House that understand the benefits of
immigration reform. There are enough people who know that it benefits
our Nation's prosperity and understand that we will do this inevitably.
But with every day that passes, this problem gets bigger. The
consequences of inaction become more costly. This body needs to stop
hiding behind empty promises and start doing the job we were sent here
to do.
We recognize the sacrifices of America's veterans. Let's remember
their loved ones who are left in the shadows.
I want to remind my colleagues across the aisle that there is enough
blame to go around, but here is what is clear: a Democratic Senate took
up comprehensive immigration reform and passed a bipartisan bill. This
would not be the bill that I would love. This would not be the bill
that the gentleman from Colorado or the gentleman from California would
love. Many of us could probably write a better bill; yet we took up
this bill, and it got passed. The President has said he would sign that
bill. And before this House, we have a bipartisan bill that has 190
signatures. If the Speaker would allow it to come to the floor, it
would pass.
Mr. Speaker, we need you to yield here. You did it on Hurricane Sandy
relief, you did it on the budget and fiscal crisis, you did it on VAWA;
and it is time to do it now. Let the will of this body happen. Let us
vote, and we will vote it through. The consequences are grave not only
for our country, not

[[Page H7044]]

only for the millions who suffer, not only for the veterans, not only
for their spouses and family; but they are going to have a great
consequence for your party. The time has come to let this be voted on.
We have been given an unprecedented opportunity to fix our broken
immigration system and make our Nation stronger. Now is the time to
pass immigration reform.
Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Miami for his impassioned
words.
It is rare, in my experience here, that more than two-thirds of the
Senate can agree to solve an issue. They always talk about reaching the
60-vote threshold. There are only 54 or 55 of one party. How do we get
to 60? This was 68 votes, more than two-thirds of the United States
Senate. This House could act tomorrow.
As you know, Madam Speaker, what many Americans wonder is if it could
pass, why aren't we debating it? Why aren't we discussing it? What we
spend our time on and the bills that we debate in this Chamber are
determined by the majority leader and the Speaker. That is why we need
their ability to bring these bills to the floor. If people want to
stand in opposition, let them be public with that and say they don't
want to solve immigration. But I am confident that the votes exist
today with support of more than a third of the Republicans in the
Senate. I think the numbers would be similar here. I think it could be
a quarter, it could be a third, it could be 20 percent of the
Republicans in this body that would agree it is time to fix our broken
immigration system.
I yield to the gentleman from Miami.
Mr. GARCIA. I just wanted to agree with the gentleman from Colorado.
What is clear is that there are enough votes here to pass this. What
is clear is if this comes to the floor, this will pass. What is clear
is that Mr. Cantor wants a bill to pass. What is clear is that there
has probably been no bill with broader support--probably since I have
been in Congress, probably since the gentleman from Colorado got here.
We not only have the Chamber of Commerce on our side, but we have the
AFL-CIO, who is on the other side of the spectrum. We have the farm
workers, and then we have the growers. We have almost every sector,
including the religious sector. All of them are looking for a solution
here, and there is only one man standing in the way. That is the
Speaker.
We ask, Mr. Speaker, for you to yield to the will of this body, yield
to the majority, and yield to what is right for our Nation. We demand a
vote. The Nation deserves a vote. Our country deserves a vote.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Florida.
It is not the desire, I don't think of any of us, of the Democrats,
of our leader, of our Members, for this to be a political issue that
one side is demonized on, that is used to generate political support.
Rather, we would like to solve it. We would like this issue to go away.
We would like to fix our broken immigration system; but if that doesn't
happen, of course candidates are going to run on fixing it and the
American people, with overwhelming support, will elect candidates who
want to fix it.
If Members of this body won't lead, frankly, Madam Speaker, they will
need to get out of the way, whether by their choice or whether by the
people's choice. The Americans are demanding action.
I yield to the gentleman from California, a leader on immigration
reform.
Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman from Colorado for yielding time.
The issue of immigration reform is a top priority for our Nation and
rightly so. It will not only help our economy grow, but it will also
help families stay together.
I was taken aback earlier today when Speaker Boehner said that the
Republican-controlled House has ``no intention of ever going to
conference on the Senate immigration bill.''
That is clearly at odds with what the American people want and what
the American people need.
I just want to recount a bit of my own history.
Mr. POLIS. One way to honor the Speaker's word and not go to
conference would simply be to take up the Senate immigration bill and
advance it directly to the President. Perhaps we can also call upon the
Speaker to honor his word in not having to go to conference by actually
bringing the Senate bill before this body.
The conference would not be necessary; is that correct? It would go
right to the President.
Mr. TAKANO. I believe so. Just bring it directly to the floor. We can
bring that Senate bill directly to the floor and let the House work its
will.
The topic of our Special Order had to do with immigration reform in
the military and veterans.
I recount a very poignant part of my own family's history. All of my
grandparents, both my parents were interned during World War II without
trial in Japanese American internment camps.
Despite this great injustice, many children of these immigrants,
young men, volunteered for military service. They fought in the 100th
Infantry, in the 442nd, suffered some of the greatest casualties, and
were most recently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their
service. These were young men who wanted to demonstrate their loyalty
to this country and were given an opportunity to fight for our country.
I think it is tragic that young DREAMers under deferred action are not
allowed to serve the country that they love, where the language of
English is mainly the language they speak, and the culture they know is
that of our country, America.
Just like the men of the World War II generation, Japanese Americans
who fought for this country and all Japanese American fighting units, I
believe that the children of immigrants today want that opportunity.
Over the past few months, I have received hundreds of letters from
residents in my district, letters from business owners, husbands,
wives, and perhaps even most distressing, children. One letter I
received is from a local teenager who wrote to me about her mother who
will likely be deported back to Mexico in 2015. She said:

It is going to be very hard to bring her back to
California. Her four kids need her back. She is a single
mother. She is the only person we have close to us.

Another letter I received said:

My stepfather's mother died of heart problems, so he had to
go back to Mexico to her funeral. He was there for a couple
of days, and when he tried to come home, it was hard for him
to come back over to California. It has been a while since we
have seen him. My mom misses him terribly. She cries every
time she talks to him on the phone. It has been 2 months
since he left to Mexico, which probably means he lost his
job. He is the main provider for our family. This is very
stressful and hard on my mom because she is not able to pay
the bills. It is hard for her to support us and be strong at
the same time. I hate to see her suffer and be sad all the
time. Families should not be ripped apart like this. Other
families should not have to go through what my family is
going through.

Madam Speaker, these are letters from children whose families are
being ripped apart.
I also received a letter from a wife and a mother saying:

I myself am one of those many families that unfortunately
have to go through this injustice. My husband was deported on
his way to work about 3 years ago, and during these few
years, it has been really hard for my new 5-year-old daughter
and me. The stress I go through every day is unhealthy, and,
unfortunately, my daughter has to go through it, as well. My
daughter really wants to be with her father, and it really
hurts to see her go through this situation.

These are American families that we can help by passing immigration
reform.
The last letter I would like to read is from one of the largest
employers in my district, the Blue Banner Company, a grower and shipper
of California citrus. They wrote to me and detailed the difficulties of
a recent crop of theirs when they faced a 30 percent to 35 percent
labor shortage. Because of the labor shortage, less fruit was harvested
from the trees in a timely manner. Because the fruit was harvested not
at peak time, it was sent to be juiced instead of sold fresh for eating
by consumers. This resulted in a total loss for their growers of $3.4
million to $3.8 million.
The letter goes on to say:

We, California agriculture, desperately need a legal
workforce from which to hire.

Reforming our immigration system will help businesses such as Blue
Banner by providing a workforce that is ready and willing to work.
Let's pass immigration reform and help families stay together and help
businesses obtain the workers they need.

[[Page H7045]]

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, we have here another leader from the great
State of California (Mr. Cardenas), my friend.

{time} 1915

Mr. CARDENAS. Thank you very much for bringing together this
important discussion on this floor of our Nation's Capitol.
I think it is really important, Madam Speaker, for us to remind
ourselves that the only thing that is stopping comprehensive
immigration reform is the fact that, Madam Speaker, the leadership of
this House is unwilling to allow the vote to take place.
Today I am proud to join my colleagues to talk about the need for
immigration reform but, more importantly, the cost America bears as
Congress does nothing.
We were sent to Washington to solve our Nation's problems, but
Republican leadership has announced we are done and will not take up
immigration reform this year. Madam Speaker, it is November 13. We are
not done. We have 6 more weeks to work, just like all Americans. Why
don't we just continue doing our job?
Members of our Armed Forces don't get the liberty to say when they
are done. There are no vacations or timeouts for them. They proudly
wear the U.S. flag on their shoulder and continue to protect our
freedoms, even when the leadership in our Congress decides that they no
longer want to work.
As of June 2009, for example, there were over 114,000 foreign-born
individuals in our United States armed services serving our country.
Over 95,000 of those individuals were naturalized U.S. citizens. They
were not born in this country, but they went through the process of
becoming citizens and serve our country proudly. More than 10,000 of
those servicemembers are not U.S.-born citizens. They stand on the
front lines because they believe in what America stands for. Let's get
to work, pass comprehensive immigration reform, and earn the honor of
their service and their sacrifice.
Every day we await action on a comprehensive immigration reform bill,
millions of dollars in potential revenue is lost to Americans in our
country. Our farms do not have a stable workforce. Far too many high-
tech companies are short the workers they need to continue to innovate
and grow American jobs.
Our schools attract the best and the brightest from around the world,
but when they get their degrees and want to stay in this great country,
they are sent away, not allowed to start businesses and hire American
citizens.
In all, the full economic potential of undocumented immigrants as
workers, taxpayers, consumers, and entrepreneurs is being lost because
they are unable to earn legal status. And when we grow the American
economy, we create more jobs for Americans.
As many in Congress continue to deny the pressing need for
comprehensive immigration reform, the broken U.S. immigration system
continues to tear families apart, while simultaneously draining the
Federal budget and robbing our American economy. Talking about
comprehensive immigration reform is not enough. It is time for
Democrats and Republicans to vote together on this floor and pass a
solution that will serve all of America. The time for reform is now.
The system is broken, and fixing it in an intelligent, bipartisan way
is something that a majority of Americans want. Americans understand
that deportation, or even self-deportation, is not an option. They
support a pathway to citizenship. Even more support a pathway to legal
residency. The American people want this solution.
With the introduction of H.R. 15 in our House, a bipartisan bill for
comprehensive immigration reform, we have reached a significant
milestone for commonsense immigration reform. The bill is practical and
fair and holds everyone accountable. The bill strengthens the border,
strengthens the economy, and provides a pathway to citizenship for
people who have lived, worked, and raised their families right here in
the United States of America.
We cannot wait any longer. It is time for Speaker Boehner to bring a
comprehensive immigration reform bill to the floor of this House and
let the will of the American people have its way. America deserves a
solution. We are ready for a vote. It is time that our House do the
will of the people, that we have a comprehensive immigration reform
bill come to this floor and allow Republicans and Democrats to vote
their conscience and pass that bill.
Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from California.
And just to highlight how we can improve our security as a Nation and
honor the tradition of contributions that veterans have made to the
security of our Nation, by simply allowing young people loyal to our
country, who have lived here and it is the only country they know, who
are able to work legally under DACA, simply allowing them, if they
choose to, to put their lives on the line for the country that they
love, that will make us all safer, Madam Speaker, and is part of H.R.
15 and comprehensive immigration reform.
I yield to another leader in the effort to fix our broken immigration
system, a gentleman from a large district in Texas that covers a lot of
the border, my good friend, Mr. Gallego.
Mr. GALLEGO. I thank the gentleman from Colorado for yielding.
Madam Speaker, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak.
This past Veterans Day, I had the opportunity to recognize and to
thank those who served in the military with a duty to defend our
country. I and all of us, I think, who serve in this Chamber have a
duty to these veterans to defend their needs here in the U.S. Congress,
and that would include the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
I am very privileged to represent a portion of San Antonio, Texas,
known as Military City, USA. This past weekend, at a Veterans Day
ceremony at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, there was a different
aspect of that celebration for veterans, because this past weekend, as
we honored veterans on Veterans Day at Fort Sam Houston National
Cemetery, there was also, at that same site, that same location, that
same time, a naturalization ceremony, where 18 people, servicemembers,
were naturalized:
Eddie Rivers, Theophilus Botchway, Lily Alexandra Caceres, Tashique
Williams, Kwaku Bosoah, Kenneth Francis, Jr., Nabieula Samura, Maria
Cervantes Ramos, Carena Garabet Akridge, Larry Ndungu, Elkanah Yator,
Mario Alexis Mares, Omar Ruiz Perez, Guillermo Chavez Cardenas, Marlon
Chris Gabriel, Petra Maria Thompson, Gabriel Adjetey, all of those were
involved in the Veterans Day naturalization ceremony.
They came from Dominica, Ecuador, Germany, Ghana, Honduras, the Ivory
Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Trinidad and Tobago and
Syria.
You see, each year about 8,000 noncitizens join the U.S. military.
Their sacrifices throughout history have been many. Immigrants who
served in the U.S. military are enlistees like Lance Corporal Jose
Gutierrez, who was the first U.S. serviceman killed in combat in Iraq
some 10 years ago. Mr. Gutierrez, who was a native of Guatemala,
arrived in the U.S. without documents at the age of 14. He received his
U.S. citizenship posthumously, after his supreme sacrifice.
Others, like Alfred Rascon, emerged from the war as high achievers.
Mr. Rascon, who was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was assigned
to Fort Sam Houston for basic and for specialist medical training. He
was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam war. He became a U.S.
citizen, and he later served as Director of the United States Selective
Service System.
The list of stories of noncitizens who have served in the U.S.
military is a very long list. Enlistments by immigrants are highest
during times of war. At the end of the last decade, Madam Speaker,
there were over 100,000 foreign-born individuals serving in various
aspects in various capacities in our Armed Forces. That is why it is so
important to recognize the contributions of immigration to our national
security.
On social media, through Twitter and Facebook, I made it known that I
was at this ceremony on Veterans Day in San Antonio, where not only
were we honoring veterans, but there was a citizenship and
naturalization ceremony at the same time. And there were many comments
about, How is this possible?
Well, it is and it has been. In the years since 9/11 and the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, we have, in fact, relied on immigrants in our
military.

[[Page H7046]]

Since 2002, over 89,000 military servicemembers have become U.S.
citizens. Immigrants in the military and other agencies critical to our
national security have served as translators, for example; and through
their understanding of local communities and through their
understanding of local customs, they have helped collect intelligence
which better protects Americans, not only at home, but also abroad.
Unfortunately, today the House leadership said that they would not
consider immigration reform this year, and, frankly, that is a real
tragedy. They said they wouldn't even consider looking at the Senate
bill as a starting point to negotiate.
H.R. 15, of which I am a cosponsor, has 190 other cosponsors and 25
or so Republicans who have vowed to support it, and thus, the votes are
there to pass immigration reform.
In this time of excessive partisanship and excessive bickering, we
have to find a way forward to do the right thing for our country, for
our kids, and for our future. We have to figure out a way to succeed,
even if we succeed sometimes in spite of ourselves.
Especially in today's political climate, so many of us here in the
House, we repeatedly talk about our commitment to principles, our
commitment to fighting for what we, as individual Members, believe in.
But the reality is that, in a House with 435 people and with 100
Members of the Senate and an all-or-nothing attitude, many times it
produces nothing, and that all-or-nothing attitude kills immigration
reform. That all-or-nothing attitude produces nothing for children who
have known no other home than the United States and are here through no
fault of their own. It produces nothing of the estimated $775 billion
in revenue and $125 billion in payroll from immigrant-owned businesses,
and it produces nothing of the $175 billion in deficit reduction in the
first 10 years after immigration reform is enacted or another $700
billion in deficit reduction in the 10 years after that.
Immigrants are so important to our country in so many ways. We say it
all the time. We say it all the time. Ours is a Nation of immigrants.
Immigration reform is critical to our economy, to our families, and,
yes, even to our national security.

{time} 1930

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Tonko).
Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Representative Polis.
Earlier tonight when we started this hour, I made mention of how
proud I am of my grandfather, who was an immigrant from Poland. He
added, along with his military colleagues, to the muscle of the
military might of this Nation, and together, they were able to help
serve this Nation so as to proclaim victory in the war that was to end
all wars. But we know that that wasn't the case.
Nonetheless, with that contribution to this country behind him, he
returned home. He returned to build a life. He returned to build a
family. He returned to build a community. He returned, like all of our
veterans, to build a Nation. Why would we want to stop this pathway to
progress? Why would we want to stop this pathway to economic vitality?
Why would we want to stop this pathway to citizenship?
You know, it is no wonder that so many from various perspectives have
come forth, imploring us in this House, imploring the Republican
leadership, to set an agenda that includes immigration reform. For
everyone from the Chamber of Commerce to the Farm Bureau, from labor to
the farm community to the working families of this Nation to so many of
the businesses that have asked for sound immigration reform, let's not
stand in the way of progress. We only ask the Republican majority in
this House to set the tone, open to the discussion, because if it is
brought to the floor, I am convinced that we will recognize, as
Representatives, as leaders of this Nation, the true definition of this
Nation, a land of immigrants.
With that, I yield back to Representative Polis and thank him for
leading us in this very important discussion here this evening.
Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) for his
impassioned words.
Here in the spirit of Veterans Day week--of course we all honor our
veterans every day of the year. This past Monday was Veterans Day. This
week, in particular, we are honoring those who serve our Nation. I
would like to share the stories of several immigrants who serve in our
Armed Forces.
This is Augustus Maiyo, who serves in Colorado with the U.S. Army
World Class Athlete Program at Fort Carson. I am proud to say that he
won the Marine Corps Marathon last year and led the team to victory. He
is a runner and has done remarkable times and ended up winning it. He
was fortunate to get the run done right before Hurricane Sandy impacted
our Nation. We are proud, of course. I want to thank Augustus Maiyo for
his service and for being a role model for so many others.
One of the hats I wear in Congress is I cochair the U.S.-Nepal
Caucus, and I am particularly proud to be able to share the story of
Saral Shrestha, a Fort Bragg soldier from Katmandu, Nepal, who was
selected as the 2012 Soldier of the Year. He came to the United States
in 2007 from Nepal. He went to college in Nebraska, joined the Army in
2009, and was deployed in Afghanistan.
We should be proud of the contributions that our 2012 Soldier of the
Year has made, himself an immigrant, an inspiration to all the men and
women who serve, including those who were born in other nations.
As many of you know, the contest for Soldier of the Year is a very
rigorous competition. Shrestha has been promoted to sergeant since he
began the competition. We are particularly proud that the announcement
was made during the Association of the United States Army annual
meeting in Washington, D.C.
There were many others, Madam Speaker, that we would like to be able
to share the stories of, who want to lay down their lives to defend our
country and to serve with distinction but, under current law, are
prevented from serving in the Armed Forces, even though under the
deferred action program they are able to work, they are able to attend
school in our country, and all that many of them ask is to be able to
risk their lives to defend the country they love, the country they
know, the United States of America. H.R. 15 and the Senate bill address
this situation and would allow these brave young men and women to
serve.
It is time, Madam Speaker. It is time to bring this bill forward. It
is time to have a simple ``yes'' or ``no'' vote. It is what the
American people are demanding. The American people are not demanding
that we spend our precious hours and days debating asbestos reform. The
American people are not demanding that we only work a dozen days before
the end of the year here in Congress. The American people are demanding
that we solve problems.
More than 70 percent of the American people support comprehensive
immigration reform. It would improve the security of the Nation. It
would honor the service of our veterans. It would secure our borders.
It would reflect our values. It would improve our economy. It would
reduce the deficit--and it would create jobs for Americans. What is not
to like? Let's pass comprehensive immigration reform now.
I yield back the balance of my time.

____________________