[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9693-H9694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MY WORK FOR AMERICA IS NOT DONE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, when I was born, separate but equal was 
the law of the land. Even in a northern city like Chicago, a young 
Puerto Rican kid knew where he could and could not go, which beaches 
and pools were open to him, and which were off-limits.
  Segregation and discrimination by race, gender, religion, and sexual 
orientation were deeply embedded in the customs and culture of our 
society, and upheld by the State and Federal Government.
  So as I prepare to leave office after 26 years representing the 
people of the Fourth District of Illinois, I think it is important to 
reflect on how far we have come and how far we still have to go before 
this country lives up to its lofty ideals enshrined in our most sacred 
documents and origin mythology.
  That a Puerto Rican born in Chicago in 1953, 65 years ago, the son of 
Spanish-speaking immigrants with little education who were driven by 
poverty from the mountains of Puerto Rico, would be able to speak into 
this microphone at all is perhaps a ringing endorsement for what this 
Nation stands for.
  But let us be clear: People sacrificed and died so that I could speak 
here today. People I never met, like Medgar Evers, Emmett Till, and 
countless others, died in the struggle against discrimination and 
American apartheid, and opened the path for me to be here today.
  The Voting Rights Act and other civil rights legislation passed in my 
lifetime on this floor were soaked in the blood of martyrs, old and 
young, who kept moving forward until everyone had the right to vote and 
every vote was counted.
  Even as the President and his party challenge the principles of the 
Voting Rights Act today, I have always tried to honor those who have 
given their lives to make America freer and stronger.
  To be blunt, were it not for the sacrifice of Black Americans, Black 
people in this country and their allies, who literally had their homes 
and churches bombed fighting to make this country live up to its own 
creed, I would not be here speaking to you today. That has always and 
will always guide me.
  When the Fourth District was created to give Latinos an opportunity 
in Chicago to have a voice in Congress, I was the first to win that 
seat. While the majority of my constituents then in 1992 were 65 
percent Latino, on election day, the majority of voters were White.
  In 26 years and 13 elections, that has changed. Today, voters on 
election day in the majority Latino Fourth District, which I represent, 
are, in fact, Latino.
  Early on, I realized the constituent services in my district were not 
restricted to veterans' benefits and Social Security, although we work 
hard on those issues. In my district, helping people navigate the 
complex and expensive process of citizenship was a top need and became 
a top priority for my office.
  We helped more than 55,000 people--let me underscore that, 55,000 
immigrants--become citizens, sponsoring workshops, helping people 
resolve issues, and setting a standard that I feel is unmatched by any 
congressional office.
  Just last month, I spoke with a woman who told me a remarkable story. 
Her daughter had assembled all of her documents and was prepared to 
apply for citizenship, and then she left the file on a Chicago subway 
system train. A few days later, this woman told me, a knock came at her 
door. Someone had found her daughter's folder, and they didn't give it 
to the CTA's lost and found, but, rather, they made sure it got to my 
office on Fullerton Avenue in Chicago.
  My office and staff were so associated with citizenship and helping 
the immigrant communities that this Good Samaritan felt there was only 
one logical place to return the documents. Indeed, we worked with her 
daughter to make sure all of her documents and fees were filed. Today, 
she is a citizen of the United States of America.
  When I walk through my district and talk with moms and dads, they 
tell me how my office touched their lives.

[[Page H9694]]

Whether it was for citizenship or fighting someone's wrongful 
deportation, my office has done more than just help constituents. We 
have literally helped them preserve their families.
  It is the legacy of helping families and individuals, and making this 
country a more welcoming place for people, people a lot like my parents 
from rural Puerto Rico, that is what I carry with me as I leave.
  My work for America, her immigrants, and the character of our great 
Nation is not done. It is simply switching to private life. We who 
believe in freedom cannot rest. But to all of my colleagues, past and 
present, thank you for walking with me on this journey these many 
years.

                          ____________________