[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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