[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMMIGRATION REFORM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, 7 months ago, the Senate passed a
bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill, and for 7 months we
have waited.
We have taken over 600 votes in the House of Representatives this
Congress: finding the time to vote 46 times to overturn Obama
administration; finding the time to pass nine bills that harm our
environment; finding the time to twice pass bills that weaken our
education system; finding the time to rename 40 post offices. But we
haven't taken one vote, not a single vote, to advance immigration
reform. We simply haven't found the time.
This despite the support of an overwhelming majority of Americans.
This despite the support of interests as varied as labor unions and the
Chamber of Commerce, high-tech companies, and faith leaders. This
despite the CBO reporting that immigration reform will provide a much-
needed jolt to the American economy.
With over half of the 113th Congress behind us, we have ignored one
of the signature issues that the American people sent us here to solve.
Sure, we have talked about immigration reform. We have even had our
Gang of Eight on this side of the Capitol; but the old saying goes:
talk is cheap.
Months of discussions by this Congress on one of the most important
and complex issues in a generation have yielded only one point and one
point only.
The only thing we have decided so far is that if we take on this
issue, if we pass immigration reform, we will do it piece by piece.
That is it. That is the only progress this body has made on this
critical issue. We have made no substantive decisions about the fate of
over 11 million people currently living their lives in legal limbo in
this country--no substantive decision about whether their children,
many of whom know no other country than this, will be sent thousands of
miles away to live in a foreign country, separated from their families,
denied the American Dream they fought so hard for, or even whether LGBT
families will be torn apart.
The only progress we can point to at this time is instead of one
large bill, we have decided on several small bills. If that is not
definitive of a do-nothing Congress, I don't know what is.
But, okay, Mr. Speaker, you have convinced the President. If
piecemeal is the only way we are going to pass immigration reform, then
piecemeal it is. Here is the most important point. Where are the
pieces? See, here is the thing: even if you are going to do something
on a piecemeal basis, you still have got to do the first piece.
The second problem with a piecemeal approach is that you run the risk
of cherry-picking, pushing through issues like increased border
security, high-tech visas, while ignoring the harder decisions like
providing a path to citizenship for the millions living in the shadows.
My friends on the other side of the aisle have introduced several
immigration bills this Congress, with a few of them even passing out of
committee; but not one bill has been offered that comes close to
offering a pathway to citizenship.
While we may accept the piecemeal approach for the sake of getting
something done, what we cannot accept--what we will not accept--is an
approach that leaves a pathway to citizenship on the sidelines, because
the pathway to citizenship remains the cornerstone of any serious
immigration reform plan. The rest of the immigration reform structure
is built around that piece. Without it, immigration reform will not
stand. Without it, our system will remain broken.
The American people have called on us to fix our broken immigration
system. At the very least, we owe it to them to give it a try. The
window is still open; the opportunity is still there. We simply need to
find the courage to complete the task.
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