[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 16, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H7168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





               SURVIVAL CHECKS FOR MIXED-STATUS FAMILIES

  (Mr. GARCIA of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, we are close to finalizing a 
relief package, but I ask my colleagues: Relief for whom?
  A relief package without survival checks is not a relief package at 
all, nor is a relief package that leaves out millions of immigrants and 
their families. Any deal that we strike must include survival checks to 
families and immigrants, and mixed-status families must be included.
  Earlier this year, countless families that I represent were denied 
stimulus checks, including U.S. citizens whose spouses are immigrants. 
We even excluded children who may have an immigrant parent.
  How in the world did we exclude U.S. citizen children?
  In this season of sacred holidays, I implore all of us to be 
compassionate and not punish kids for their parents' status. Families 
are struggling to put food on their tables and keep roofs over their 
heads.
  Circumstances are dire. We need to put money directly into working 
families' pockets. I urge my colleagues that any relief package must 
include survival checks for everyone, including immigrant children.

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