[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2178-H2179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CREATE A LEGAL PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today as the daughter of immigrants 
to urge my colleagues to please vote ``no'' on an even more 
dehumanizing bill. It dehumanizes our immigrant neighbors. H.R. 2, 
which is known better as the child deportation act, is fueled with 
hateful rhetoric that I think is very dangerous for our country.
  I am honestly not sure if the goal with this bill is to worsen our 
broken immigration system or to simply keep as many Black and Brown 
immigrants out of our country as they can. I know bringing back family 
and child deportation is immoral. Prohibiting funds to organizations 
providing lifesaving humanitarian aid to migrants is simply cruel.
  This bill dehumanizes and is incredibly painful to see our colleagues 
pushing forward. Many have called it racist and inhumane, that it is 
fear-mongering, and that it is failed policies that will continue to 
worsen our broken immigration system.
  We must in this Chamber protect all of our neighbors. We also must 
work toward protecting those who are fleeing horrific violence. We need 
to continue to be leaders in creating a safe haven for those who seek 
asylum.

[[Page H2179]]

  We cannot and should not embrace hate rhetoric and policies that only 
seek to pit communities against each other, tear families apart, and 
put our immigrant neighbors in harm's way here in the United States, 
Madam Speaker, and also those from other countries.
  No human being is illegal. I believe that in my heart. I will 
continue to fight to make sure that we pass some sort of comprehensive 
immigration reform that gives our immigrant neighbors the dignified, 
legal pathway to citizenship they deserve.
  Madam Speaker, I look forward to voting against this horrible, racist 
bill and urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''


                    Engaging With the Mamas' Caucus

  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize mothers of the Michigan 
12th Congressional District and across our country. I wish them all 
Happy Mother's Day.
  I am proud to be a mother of two incredible boys. That is why, last 
year, I joined Mothering Justice, a national organization made up of 
mothers to create the first-ever Congressional Mamas' Caucus.
  We are fighting together for fair and equitable access to childcare, 
paid leave, and benefits for our care workers, and real economic 
justice for our families.
  In the Mamas' Caucus, we are committed to advocating for all mamas. 
We must not only pass important policies about mothers to help mothers 
but with our mothers. That is why the Congressional Mamas' Caucus is so 
incredibly important.
  We all know the cost of raising a family in our country is among the 
highest in the world and that our policies and social safety nets too 
often leave our families behind, especially communities of color. We 
also know that mamas are on the front lines of our fight for 
reproductive justice and more.
  Again, we cannot leave them behind, and we cannot continue to talk 
about policies that directly impact them without them being there at 
the table to shape those policies so it can be transformative and 
meaningful.
  If anything, Madam Speaker, the pandemic exposed just how broken our 
safety nets were, and the Mamas' Caucus remains committed to ending 
child poverty, to focus on those safety nets that continue to not serve 
our families currently.
  I read a quote during the pandemic that I think resonates why the 
Mamas' Caucus is so important in this Chamber. It was a quote by a 
wonderful poet, Sonya Renee Taylor. In the midst and height of the 
pandemic, she said: ``We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. 
Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, 
inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, 
rage, hoarding, hate, and lack. We should not long to return, my 
friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment, 
one that fits all of humanity and nature.''
  Again, this was her expression, and it resonates for mothers like 
myself and across the country an understanding that the pandemic gave 
us an opportunity to recognize those broken systems and how we need to 
create a new garment. The way we can do it is by bringing mothers in 
the room as we develop these policies that directly impact all of our 
families.
  Madam Speaker, I welcome my colleagues to be engaged with the 
Congressional Mamas' Caucus, to engage on the policies we are pushing 
forward. I appreciate this opportunity to uplift them in this Chamber 
every day--not only on Mother's Day, but every single day.

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