[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 10 (Thursday, January 18, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         WE NEED TO FIX OUR OUTDATED, BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Vasquez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak today about a place that I 
love, and a place that is vitally important to our Nation.
  I am a proud product of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, a culturally 
rich binational community, full of opportunity, which helps power 
international trade and is key to bringing down the costs of goods for 
all Americans.
  I understand how disillusioned Americans have become when it comes to 
addressing our broken immigration system and the challenges that we 
currently face at the border.
  I am frustrated myself. That is why I stand here today saying that 
both Democrats and Republicans have not done enough to fix our 
outdated, broken immigration system. The administration should look to 
the leadership and the experience of border House Representatives, like 
myself, on immigration reform and border security.
  Let me be clear: Republicans haven't brought forward any real 
bipartisan solutions that could help alleviate the impacts of the 
humanitarian crisis that we are seeing today.
  In fact, just this week, Republicans introduced a toothless 
resolution that only serves as a political statement that vilifies 
immigrants.
  Further, Republicans did this in the same week that extreme rightwing 
immigration policies in the State of Texas led to the death of two 
migrant children who drowned in the Rio Grande. This is disgraceful. It 
is not who we are. It is un-American.
  Trust me, I am tired of Congress kicking this can down the road for 
over 30 years. That is why I have introduced a package of commonsense 
legislation that could help solve this problem.
  We can fix this crisis, but we can't do it while we lose our 
humanity. We can do that by securing our border, while also ensuring 
immigrants are treated humanely. After all, we are a Nation of 
immigrants.
  That means investing in customs agents who work long hours and 
providing them with the tools they need to do their jobs. It means 
modernizing our legal system to match our needs. It means giving new 
Americans the opportunity to fill the jobs that our Nation and our 
communities desperately need.
  I am a proud Democrat, but I am an American first, and right now that 
means holding everybody accountable to bring real solutions to the 
American people.

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