[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H59-H60]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Slotkin) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, now that we are back in Washington and 
starting some very serious conversations, I wanted to make clear where 
I stand on

[[Page H60]]

an issue that I think most Americans, certainly most Members of 
Congress, believe is of urgent importance, and that is on the issue of 
immigration.
  Immigration is now part of a larger negotiation that is going on, 
largely in the Senate, in addition to funding things like Ukraine, the 
Middle East conflict, and support in Taiwan. It is all in the mix.
  Truth be told, since becoming a Member of Congress, I have never seen 
an issue more politicized than the issue of immigration. I think most 
of us, regardless of party, would agree that our immigration system is 
broken. It is not working for anyone--not the communities struggling to 
handle thousands of migrants; not our own economy, where we actually 
really need immigration; not the migrants themselves who are walking, 
in some cases, a thousand miles with their children to get to our 
border.
  Both Democrats and Republicans share blame on this situation. We have 
had chances to reform this totally broken system in the past, but we 
have fallen short over and over again.
  It does not have to be this way. I think, as rational, practical 
people, we should be able to come together and have a conversation 
about how we think this most American of issues should go, and as we 
do, we should follow what I consider the five core pillars to address 
this comprehensive crisis:
  Number one, immigration in the United States should be based on the 
needs of the U.S. economy and the employers in the United States. Right 
now, every single employer that I know is looking for legal labor, and 
our economy can take new people coming into the workforce.
  We should key our immigration numbers to the economy. Immigration 
numbers, visa numbers, are set by Congress--not by the White House, but 
by this body that I sit in, so if we want to raise the caps of legally 
allowed visas in the United States, that is on this body.
  Number two, we have to change the system so that immigrants can come 
to this country by applying from their home countries. Have it be 
faster to get a legal work permit from your home country rather than 
walking, as I said, a thousand miles, making this dangerous journey to 
the border, or paying a whole bunch of unsavory people to get 
themselves over.

  This is how it works on the northern border. I am from Michigan. You 
don't have border agents making decisions about whether someone gets to 
come into our country or not. They are checking the visas and the 
paperwork, stamping approved or unapproved and moving them through.
  Number three, we need to invest in border security. Every country in 
the world deserves to know who is coming inside their borders.
  I am a national security person. I spent my entire life trying to 
make sure our homeland was protected. Every country has the right to 
know who is coming in. We need strong border security, and there are 
plenty of bipartisan proposals, including ones that I have presented, 
that can accomplish this.
  Number four, we have to address the root causes of migration. Why are 
people risking their life to come to this country in the first place? 
It is poverty. It is violence back home. We have got to help those 
countries improve their situation, so we don't have such a flood of 
people feeling desperate to come to the United States. That is in their 
interests and ours.
  Lastly, we need to live up to our values and morals as a country of 
immigrants, as a Nation of immigrants. I am guessing everyone in this 
room right now owes their lives in America to an immigration story, and 
we always should remain a place where people fearing persecution and 
death can come to for a chance to live.
  I am willing to talk with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who wants 
to uphold commonsense conversations. I am willing to make progress, 
even if it is not popular, even if plans are imperfect. The truth is 
there are a lot of bipartisan ideas out there. They are just not sexy. 
They just don't get attention.
  I am the cosponsor of something called the Dignity Act. It is a 
comprehensive reform plan. It is bipartisan. It was put together by 
folks in the Problem Solvers Caucus. To be honest about those future 
negotiations, we have to be honest that our immigration system is 
broken because of that partisanship, because all sides--Members of the 
House, the Senate, and the White House--are pointing fingers at 
everybody else.
  There is a way out of this mess. It is the same thing our 
constituents do every day. They go to work. They have negotiations. Not 
everyone is happy, but they come up with a compromise.
  As we kick off 2024, we know that this issue of immigration is on the 
top of all of our news feeds. It is being discussed in the Senate right 
now. I am willing to work with anyone who is actually focused on 
getting something done.

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