[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 20 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H419-H424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BIPARTISAN IMMIGRATION REFORM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Escobar) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
[[Page H420]]
General Leave
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous material on the subject of this Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I have the incredible privilege of
representing El Paso, Texas, which is a vibrant, wonderful, and
generous community of goodwill that is right on the U.S.-Mexico border.
My community has seen firsthand the challenges that come with a
significant number of people fleeing their homeland and seeking refuge
in the United States. We have opened up our pantries, we have opened up
our wallets, and we have opened up our hearts, but it is time for
Congress to act.
I am so proud to be spending this Special Order hour talking about
the first bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced
in Congress in a decade. In fact, even today, it is the only bipartisan
comprehensive immigration reform bill that exists in Congress. It is a
bill that addresses the border and beyond. It is a national security
bill. It is an economic bill. It is a bill that finally forces Congress
to do its job.
While we are seeing a large number of migrants arriving at our
Nation's front door, at the same time, we have 8 million unfilled jobs
in our country. If we want to be a competitive nation and if we want to
make sure that we are at the forefront of having a bold economy, then,
frankly, we need immigrants. However, we also need order and humanity
at the border. President Biden has repeatedly asked Congress to do its
job and find a legislative solution.
Now, the Senate has just introduced their own bipartisan bill. We
don't know the fate of that, but what we in the House know is that we
have a wonderful bipartisan coalition that has introduced a real
solution, and that real solution is the Dignity Act.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce and yield the floor to one of
my cosponsors who herself is an expert on immigration.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Scholten).
Ms. SCHOLTEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, last week I joined my colleagues from all corners of the
country on a trip to the southern border to El Paso, hosted by my good
friend, Congresswoman Escobar. This wasn't my first trip to the border.
Before coming to Congress, I worked on this issue for close to 20
years as a social worker, walking alongside immigrants and refugees who
were new to this country, also as an attorney for the United States
Department of Justice enforcing our immigration laws at the Nation's
highest law enforcement agency. I also worked at a community legal aid
organization in west Michigan. I have also helped employers try to get
the workers that they need. I have worked on all aspects of this issue.
What I saw on the border was truly horrific. We are in a crisis mode.
During our trip we talked to Border Patrol agents, we met with
individuals at holding facilities, talked to the immigrants themselves,
and we talked to humanitarian aid workers. Across the board everyone
was unified in this one belief: the border is broken. Our immigration
system is broken. There has never been a more important time to come
together with bipartisan solutions to fix it.
There is truly a crisis at our border. It is a humanitarian
nightmare, a national security red alarm, and an economic disaster.
We visited a holding facility just outside of El Paso. The number of
immigrants crossing the border every single day is far too many for the
El Paso Del Norte Processing Center to contain in just 1 day, so they
are held at a detention facility. It costs our United States
Government, our taxpayers, $1.2 million every single day to run this
facility just to hold people. This cannot be.
Now is the time for action, not the time for pointing fingers. Now is
the time not for kicking the can down the road but picking it up and
solving this problem.
We don't have to start from scratch for a new bill, a bill that would
get bipartisan support. We already have that bill. It is bipartisan,
and it is called the Dignity Act. It is the only bipartisan
comprehensive reform bill in Congress right now.
Instead of infighting and pointing fingers, Mr. Speaker, why not put
it to a vote on the floor and see how many individuals would support
it?
What are we afraid of?
That it might actually work?
That it might actually solve this problem?
The immigration crisis in our country is at a fever pitch. It has
evolved over many years of inaction, of moments just like this where we
are compelled to act but we refuse to do so.
The immigration crisis in our country is a multifaceted problem that
requires a multifaceted response.
Just insisting that we are going to close the border is not a magic
wand that would wave and fix the vast number of individuals who are
finding their way across our border every day.
It doesn't automatically provide the funding necessary for the Border
Patrol agents who would be required to enforce this border closure, and
it doesn't provide the pathways to the legal workforce that is so
desperately needed in this country.
Moreover, it surely does not address the root causes of the increase
in migrant flow that we are seeing over the years.
However, the bipartisan Dignity Act does.
The Dignity Act provides for an immediate infusion of $25 billion to
help secure our border, and the bill pays for itself through fees
generated from visas for qualified workers.
If we put this bill to a vote on the floor tomorrow, billions of
dollars would begin to start flowing to our border communities to give
them the help that they need.
This bill also addresses the source of the flow by creating new,
regional in-country processing centers, taking the pressure off the
border and helping individuals determine their eligibility ahead of
time--or lack thereof--and immigrate here to the U.S.
The bill also addresses the fact that our immigration crisis does not
exist in a vacuum at the southern border. Our years of failed policy
have resulted in millions of individuals living in the shadows of the
United States, again, a national security red alarm, an economic
disaster, and a humanitarian crisis that must be addressed.
This bill provides a means to identify these individuals and the
means to remove those who have violated our laws and pose a threat to
our country. Those who pass a background check and qualify and who pay
a fine will immediately receive permission to work and be provided a
pathway to lawful citizenship, supporting our growing economy and
enhancing all of our communities in a multitude of ways.
Why wouldn't we take this moment to address this immigration crisis?
Why wouldn't we put this bipartisan bill on the floor?
This is not a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. It is a
compromise bill. Republicans are not getting everything they want, and
Democrats are surely not getting everything they want, I can tell you
that, Mr. Speaker, but it is a compromise. That is not a dirty word.
The last time we had comprehensive immigration reform in this country
was over 40 years ago. Think about how much our world and our economy
have changed in that time. We are not always going to get exactly what
we want, but if we work hard and we work together, then we can provide
for the good of this country.
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Hillary Scholten. I so
appreciate her leadership and her support of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I was born and raised on the U.S.-Mexico border. I am a
third-generation border resident. My children are both adults. My son,
Cristian, and my daughter, Eloisa, are fourth-generation border
residents.
{time} 2045
No one wants a solution to the border more than those of us who live
there, who have made our lives there, raised our kids there, and know
that we will spend the rest of our days there.
We need to come together and find areas of compromise. There is so
much
[[Page H421]]
disunity, but we can find unity, and the Dignity Act provides us with
that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild),
a cosponsor of the Dignity Act, a dear friend, and an incredible
leader.
Ms. WILD. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be joining the gentlewoman
from El Paso, Texas, to address one of the most pressing issues facing
our Nation: our broken immigration system.
I am from Pennsylvania. We are not a border State, but I hear an
awful lot about what is happening at the southern border. I am deeply
concerned about it, as are my constituents. It is something that we,
this group of us who are speaking this evening, are committed to
fixing.
For far too long, both parties have played political games with the
crisis at our southern border rather than pursuing real solutions to
restore order. That is why I am so proud to be a cosponsor of the
Dignity Act, a bipartisan bill that would tackle the crisis at our
border and reform that badly broken immigration system.
Let me tell you just a few things about what the Dignity Act would
do.
Number one, and most pressing to many, many of my constituents, it
addresses border security. It increases the hiring of CBP personnel. It
provides funding for border infrastructure and equipment. It makes it a
crime to transmit the location of law enforcement personnel at the
border for the purpose of trying to defraud the immigration laws. It
also requires employers to verify the immigration status of their
employees using an E-Verify system.
All of those are things that we have been hearing about from the GOP
for ages. This bill also provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers
who came here as minors and have lived here for years in the shadows,
unable to fulfill their lives, unable to become meaningful members of
the workforce and to pay taxes.
These people, these Dreamers, need a pathway to citizenship. We have
been talking about this for way too long. It gives good, law-abiding
people an opportunity to pursue the American Dream, which, by the way,
so many of our parents, grandparents, and ancestors pursued. That is
what this country is all about.
There is absolutely no question about it: We need comprehensive
immigration reform, and that means we have to bolster border security
and ensure that law-abiding, tax-paying immigrants are treated with
humanity and respect.
We need enhanced infrastructure and funding for our Border Patrol
agents to help enforce our laws and keep dangerous drugs off of our
streets. We also need to strengthen those pathways to citizenship,
which, by the way, will help build our workforce in critical industries
and will boost our American economy.
I have heard from employers, HR managers, manufacturers, and all
sorts of businesses in my community that face workforce shortages. They
want us to find ways to expand opportunities for legal immigration.
Immigration reform is also a national security issue. Comprehensive
immigration reform, as contemplated by the Dignity Act, would help us
keep the drug dealers, terrorists, and other bad guys out.
The best way to get things done in Congress is something that we
don't do nearly often enough. It is for Democrats and Republicans to
work together. We know that. We all know that. We have seen it
historically. As I said, we don't do nearly enough of that.
I am so proud that the Dignity Act has broad bipartisan support. I
will continue to work to find ways that I can engage more of my friends
across the aisle to support this commonsense immigration reform.
Let me be clear. Our country needs the Dignity Act. This bill would
allow us to bring order back to the southern border. It would surge
resources to help enforce our laws and to support border communities
like El Paso and so many others.
It would help take back power from those who seek to abuse and
overrun our asylum system. It would allow us to efficiently process
those who are eligible for legal immigration and asylum.
We must bring the bipartisan Dignity Act to the floor for a vote. It
is the only truly bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill. We
need to pass it.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in leadership to put aside partisan
politics and consider the best interests of the American people.
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, can you imagine if we came together and
actually solved the most politically divisive issue facing our Nation
today? The American people would be incredibly relieved. They would be
so grateful. We could check this key issue off our list and move on to
all the other issues that our Nation faces.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Manning), another wonderful colleague who is a cosponsor of the Dignity
Act.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Representative
Escobar, for yielding time to me and also for her tireless work on this
incredibly important issue.
Mr. Speaker, the last time Congress passed comprehensive immigration
reform was in 1986. That was nearly 40 years ago--before laptop
computers, before cell phones, and before the internet became available
to all.
In so many ways, our economy and our need for workers has changed and
grown. In fact, we have a workforce shortage at all skill levels, from
farm and factory workers to nurses and physicians to high-tech and
other STEM workers.
Even though we educate the best and the brightest of foreign
students, we send them home to compete with us because there simply
aren't enough visas to accommodate them. Our immigration system hasn't
changed to accommodate our needs. It is hampering our economic growth.
While other countries, like Canada, are encouraging immigration, we
are allowing our partisan disputes to get in the way of creating a
system that is in our own best interest.
Even worse, we have failed to update our system to tackle the rapid
growth of migrants fleeing persecution and hazardous conditions in
their own countries and seeking to enter our country by claiming asylum
at our southern border.
As one of my hometown immigration attorneys recently wrote in our
hometown newspaper, many of these people would come in other ways,
seeking legal visas if we had visa categories that accommodated them.
Despite record levels of people seeking refuge in our country, we
have failed to pass legislation that would address this crisis. Our
processes are inhumane, slow, and simply don't work. Dreamers and
asylum seekers deserve better. Border towns deserve better. Americans
deserve better.
That is why I joined a bipartisan group of women in the House to work
on serious immigration reform. Alongside my friends, Representatives
Veronica Escobar and Maria Salazar, I was proud to help introduce the
Dignity Act.
This bill would finally address the country's workforce needs,
strengthen the economy, provide pathways to citizenship for Dreamers
and asylum seekers, and secure the border.
The Dignity Act finds common ground between Democratic and Republican
immigration priorities. It is not perfect. There are things that I love
in the bill, and there are things I don't love. But if we don't find
compromise and common ground, we will never solve this challenge.
The Dignity Act strikes the right balance. It offers tough but
creative solutions to our Nation's most pressing immigration
challenges.
Over the past few months, we have seen House Republicans spend an
enormous amount of time on the House floor, in hearings, and, frankly,
on TV talking about the border crisis and demanding action. We have
heard the administration call on Congress to pass legislation to
address the border crisis as well as other immigration challenges. For
weeks, a bipartisan group of Senators had been working on legislation,
on an immigration deal, but the extreme House Republicans recently
described that deal as dead on arrival even before the text of the bill
was released.
They didn't reject the deal because it was bad policy. They didn't
know what the policy was. They rejected it because former President
Trump told them to.
He doesn't want a solution. He wants a border crisis that he can run
on. Extreme Republicans are falling in line
[[Page H422]]
with him. They don't want a solution. They want a problem that will
rile up their voters. This is shameful.
Our country deserves better. Our country deserves real solutions.
That is why I am here with my fellow Democratic co-leads of the Dignity
Act to say: Stop the whining and get to work.
We all know the border issue needs to be addressed. We all know we
have a workforce shortage. We all know we need an upgraded immigration
system that works for all of us. We have a solution crafted right here
in the House by Democrats and Republicans working together on a
bipartisan basis.
Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
join us in supporting the Dignity Act. Let's work together to solve
this problem and build a stronger future for all.
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Ms. Manning's powerful voice.
Mr. Speaker, many of the sponsors of the bipartisan comprehensive
immigration reform bill, the Dignity Act, are relatively new to
Congress, including Ms. Scholten and Ms. Manning, who you heard from.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Sorensen).
Mr. SORENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Escobar for hosting
this important discussion.
I would be remiss if I didn't say that your home State of Texas is
the only State that I have ever lived outside of my own home State of
Illinois. So, I have a soft spot for the Lone Star State.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here proud to cosponsor the Dignity Act tonight,
which is the only bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that
currently exists in the House of Representatives.
This legislation is critical. It does just what we need. It secures
our border, strengthens our economy, creates an orderly and humane path
to legal status for those who follow U.S. law, and gives law
enforcement the tools they need to stop the flow of fentanyl that is
hurting and killing members of our families and our neighbors.
Make no mistake, I am deeply concerned with what is happening at the
southern border. It is now Congress' time to act.
Since the moment I was sworn in, I have tried to work as hard as I
can with both sides of the aisle to find solutions to complex problems.
I have proposed legislation to increase the number of Customs and
Border Protection officers that patrol our southern border. I have
proposed legislation that would help identify the fentanyl that is
coming into our country. I found Republican colleagues, Republican
friends, to come together because we need to work together.
Unfortunately, House GOP leadership has rejected all of the
bipartisan ideas.
I am a believer that to get things done here in Congress, we need to
listen to the perspectives of both sides. In this Congress, the
bipartisan path has been the only way that we have gotten results.
{time} 2100
That is how we have been able to fund the government, prevent a
catastrophic debt default, pass a bill to lower taxes for businesses
and working families.
We have tried the partisan-only path to solving the immigration and
border problem, but that does not work. Securing our border and fixing
our immigration system must be done on a bipartisan basis.
Now, there are Members of Congress, especially my colleagues here on
the floor right now, who want to solve the problem, but there are some
in the House and the Senate GOP who want to strong-arm us, using the
border as a political football in the ultimate display of gamesmanship.
Just yesterday, a bipartisan group of Senators released a plan to
secure the border and fix our broken immigration system.
This compromised proposal is aggressive about tackling the challenges
that we see at the border without straying from our Nation's core
values.
The Senate plan makes our country safer; it makes our border more
secure; and it treats people fairly and humanely.
But less than a day after its release, before most Members have even
had a chance to read it, House GOP leadership said it is dead on
arrival in the House.
Now, let's call it what it is: It is a display of inaction that puts
politics in front of any solution.
The choice is clear: Do we choose to solve the problem in a
bipartisan way, or do we allow Members across the aisle just to
continue to refuse to consider the solution at all?
The latter is not what the people sent us here to do. In my district,
in central and northwestern Illinois, my neighbors expect us to come
here and solve problems, not to ignore them for political gain.
I have families in my district who have an empty seat at their dinner
table because they lost a loved one to fentanyl.
And the House GOP leadership's response to that family is: Let's put
the upcoming election in front of hurting families. That, Mr. Speaker,
is as pathetic as it is selfish.
But the good news is, Speaker Johnson has another chance. He can work
with us to put the Dignity Act up for a vote. Passing a bipartisan bill
will show the American people we are serious about solving this
problem.
I can think of few other examples where Democrats and Republicans
have come together on such a difficult topic to propose bipartisan
legislation that will secure our border, reform our immigration system,
and put us on a sustainable path to solving the issues.
We can be the Congress to do it. We can create security for our
Nation and for the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I ask Speaker Johnson to give us the chance to do what
we need. Bring the Dignity Act to the floor. Let us debate it, let us
vote on it, and let's work together to solve the problem.
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Sorensen so much. I
am so grateful for his leadership and support.
Mr. Speaker, there are diverse groups and organizations that support
the Dignity Act, from the evangelical community, to the American
Chamber of Commerce, to ABIC, the American Business Immigration
Council.
It is remarkable that once we put up our bill, our bipartisan bill,
people from every corner of this country have been clamoring, asking us
when it is coming to the floor, when will it get a vote because they
are in support.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin),
who is an incredible leader here in Congress and a colleague, a
classmate that I was elected to Congress with, another cosponsor of the
Dignity Act.
Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, I came out today to address the issue that
is top of mind for so many Americans: Immigration.
We find ourselves at this existential moment on the issue. As a
Nation of immigrants, where nearly every single one of us has our own
immigration story to tell, we know in our bones that our immigration
system is broken. It is not working for, literally, anyone.
When I say ``anyone,'' I mean, everyone. It is not working for our
businesses, who desperately need vetted immigrant labor. It is not
working for the immigrants who are walking a thousand miles in some
cases to cross our border. It is not working for our border agents and
for our customs and border folks who are trying to manage an astounding
number of people coming over the border. It is not working for our
communities who are having people bused to them. It is not working for
the strain on those cities and the services. It is not working for
anyone.
We can say with clarity and certainty that immigration system in a
Nation of immigrants is broken, and there is blame enough to go around.
Democrats, Republicans, multiple White Houses, multiple
administrations, Congress plays a big part in this, Washington
departments and agencies over many, many years have used this issue to
play politics rather than actually doing anything about it.
Finally, as you can see from the speeches here tonight, there is
agreement that we have a problem, right?
The first step you can take to dealing with your problem is admitting
you have a problem, but the fundamental question is: What are we going
to now do about it?
I am a national security person by trade. I am a former CIA officer,
a former Pentagon official. I did three tours in Iraq alongside the
military.
[[Page H423]]
My whole life before I came to this body was about protecting the
homeland from external threats.
Not only that, but I come from Michigan, a northern border State. I
was just at our border in Detroit this past week where I got to see a
healthy, functioning border and what it looks like.
There is no greater responsibility for those of us who are elected
than to protect our citizens, and no greater responsibility than to
work on solutions that do just that.
Two months ago in December, I thought we finally had gotten over a
major hump. We were at a moment where Democrats and Republicans here in
the White House, in the Senate, across the country were all saying that
we needed to work on immigration.
The Speaker of the House, the Speaker of this body, wrote to
President Biden personally, saying that if the President wanted more
things on Ukraine, it was ``dependent upon enactment of transformative
change to our Nation's border security laws.'' Those were his words.
In the Senate, a group of Democrats and Republicans did what people
pay them to do, what they actually expect them to do, which is sit in a
room, negotiate, argue, debate over policy to deal with the extreme
pressure on the border, and they came to a solution.
Yesterday, we got our first look at what that proposal actually is,
but no sooner was it out, than it is now sailing down the river like a
dumpster fire, being trashed by the very people who negotiated it,
being trashed by the very people who asked for it, being trashed by the
Speaker of the House who desperately said: I won't consider any future
assistance without border security.
No piece of legislation is ever perfect, but it does help us curb who
is coming in. It gets people working legally in our businesses like on
our farms, which desperately need that labor. In the meantime, these
people would be paying taxes, paying into Social Security, paying into
Medicare.
I can't understand why we continually refuse to take up bipartisan
solutions like the one that is being debated in the Senate and the one
that we are presenting on today, the Dignity Act. We need something to
move the ball forward.
I know that all of us are willing to work with anyone across the
aisle on solutions, but you have got to come to the table and
acknowledge we have a problem and say you want to work on the solution.
Just two months after the Speaker laid out this existential problem
with border security where he said: What is happening at the border is
nothing short of a catastrophe and demanded immediate changes to the
administration policy and to our laws.
He has now reversed course. He did a complete 180, changed his views
and now we can't talk about the border.
Why? Because former President Donald Trump told him to.
He is out there saying that I am in control of my caucus. If you have
to say you are in control of your caucus, you are not in control of
your caucus.
{time} 2110
Donald Trump told him he didn't like the bill. He told Mitch
McConnell he didn't like the bill. The thing we have been working on as
a healthy bipartisan negotiation falls apart in a day because Donald
Trump wants to make ads about it; he wants to do political rallies
about it; he wants to use it as a club against Joe Biden; he wants to
use it for himself instead of doing what the country expects, which is
dealing with the crisis at the border.
The leaders who were elected to protect their constituents are bowing
to this pressure with barely a bat of the eye. It is embarrassing
actually. It is sad to watch, but definitely embarrassing, and another
sign of how toxic and ill our politics have become.
I was trying to think about what would happen when I was a CIA
officer or at the Pentagon if I had identified a real national security
crisis with facts and data, if I had said this is a threat to our
country, talked about it publicly, constantly came back to it to raise
attention to this issue, and then refused to do anything about it?
There is a term for this in the military. It is called dereliction of
duty. It is a fireable offense.
The next time I hear one of my colleagues railing about the border,
railing about immigration in the same breath that they are refusing to
actually do anything about it, I am going to remember that in other
places other than this body, that is completely unacceptable, that it
is a joke to care about something and then ignore it.
Remember this, our colleagues had the chance to work on this issue.
If they don't like that bill, come and talk to us about the Dignity
Act. Come to the table to negotiate, but stop choosing yourself instead
of your constituents and the safety of the country.
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Slotkin for those very powerful
words. She mentioned something that I think is so important to repeat.
As I have been talking to colleagues on both sides of the aisle about
the Dignity Act, they have pointed out things they don't like or things
that they consider imperfect.
I have said two things in response: Please give me a suggestion on
how you would change whatever provision it is that you don't like and
how you would accomplish that in a bipartisan way. That is the first
thing I say. The second thing I say is, if this bipartisan bill that to
date has about 30 bipartisan cosponsors, a really great coalition of
bipartisan support, if this isn't the bipartisan immigration bill you
like, I would be happy to look at yours.
If folks don't like this bill, they can either introduce their own
after working hard to produce a bipartisan product like we did or they
can even offer suggestions on provisions they would like to see changed
as long as those changes reflect the bipartisan compromise that we
worked so hard to create in this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Pennsylvania (Ms.
Houlahan), who was just in my district and my hometown this weekend.
Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Escobar for not
only yielding her time but also for welcoming me and many others to her
community just a few days ago.
Last week, I had the opportunity to visit our southern border by way
of El Paso. This was my second time to the border. Very similar to the
op-ed that I published in Newsweek earlier today, I share a little bit
of my reaction to this very important and eye-opening congressional
delegation that I was able to participate in.
If you are a Pennsylvanian like I am, you know that we just observed
Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow, so we can
all expect an early spring. At our country's southwest border, it feels
like every day is Groundhog Day. Like so many Americans, I am a
combination of angry and frustrated and heartbroken by what continues
to happen there day after day and year after year and decade after
decade.
We know that our immigration policies have to align with the shared
values of our country. We are a country that was built primarily by
immigrants, and we must welcome new arrivals compassionately while also
protecting and securing our safety and our economy.
My community is, indeed, thousands of miles away from the southern
border, in the suburbs of Philadelphia. We face unique challenges every
day regarding immigration, but what is not unique about my community,
indeed about every community, is that we have felt the impact in some
way of our fractured and broken immigration system.
My visit to the southern border last week was not my first.
Previously, I had the opportunity to go to Brownsville, Texas, and
these trips have taught me that our system is broken but, indeed, can
be repaired.
I have seen the efforts firsthand of important changes that Congress
here has made and implemented since my first visit. Gone are the
dehumanizing cages and the literal smell of humanity. In their place is
a clean and dignified environment, centered on the health and the well-
being of the migrants and of the incredibly dedicated Americans who
work on behalf of our country. There is still clearly an enormous
amount of work that needs to be done to secure our border, with
enhanced processes, more staffing, and better systems, but the
difference is palpable.
[[Page H424]]
Most significantly, though, what has not been improved is the volume
of migrants and the fact that there is still no other path than this
desperate one for people who seek a better life in this vibrant and
healthy economy. We don't need more of the same expensive Band-Aids
but, rather, we need real reform, with more legal pathways to come here
and to participate in our Nation's next 250 years.
I am committed to bipartisanship and to securing our border, and I am
asking the very same of Congress. Specifically, I am asking the very
same of our Speaker. The message that I share today is this: Our
Republican leadership in Congress needs to commit to bringing
bipartisan immigration reform bills like Veronica Escobar's bipartisan
Dignity Act to the floor for a vote and now.
As an example, here is what the Dignity Act would do:
Number one, it would provide more money for CBP and border
infrastructure to prevent illegal immigration.
Number two, it would require employers to verify the immigration
status of workers and to ensure that they are here lawfully.
Number three, it would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers,
who are the children of immigrants who came here when they were very
young.
Number four, it would establish a path to permanent residency status
for eligible individuals without lawful immigration status who meet
various requirements, including paying into a fund to provide training
for U.S. workers.
Let us pause and think about what I have just shared--policies that
the vast, vast majority of Americans agree on. If we, as a Congress,
are not passing legislation that the vast, vast majority of Americans
agree on, I truly believe, as my colleague Representative Elissa
Slotkin mentioned, we are derelict in our duties.
Efforts like the Senate bipartisan bill that was just introduced
yesterday must also be considered and be voted on. While I am still
reading through the details of the 370-page bill, I am encouraged by
the very summary that I have seen. While the path forward on
immigration reform will likely not be straightforward, this much is
true: We must reach a compromise with real solutions to this complex
conversation and issue right now.
Again, I am calling on Speaker Johnson to change his deeply cynical
position that ``now is not the time'' for immigration reform. I
couldn't disagree more. Most people in most communities across America
couldn't disagree more.
No solution will be perfect, but we cannot let that keep us from
making progress for both the American people and for those who seek
refuge here.
Not too long ago it was, indeed, my own family seeking shelter. My
father and my grandmother survived the Holocaust. They left war-torn
Poland after World War II and sought a better way of life here in the
United States. I saw my young dad and grandmother in the eyes of
frightened, desperate, and hopeful migrants that I was able to meet
last week.
One small family unit in particular struck me. He was a young man of
probably no more than 20 years old with his beautiful, curly-headed
toddler, who reminded me of my youngest child. He told me about
traffickers taking pictures of his son to intimidate and extort the
father into conformance with their threats and demands. We can do
better.
A lot has changed since my own father and grandmother took a ship
across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City, and our immigration laws
must also change as well.
I honor the souls, both migrant and American, whose lives collide
with each other every day at our borders, and I again urge Republican
leadership to bring a bipartisan border bill to the House floor. We
must seek the hope of fresh opportunities. The shadows that burden us
must all be lifted. That is possible, but only if we here in Congress
understand that this Nation depends on us to act and to act now.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support the
bipartisan immigration reform.
{time} 2120
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud of my colleagues and so
incredibly honored and privileged to be working alongside them toward
this very noble purpose. I am so proud of my Republican colleagues, as
well, and honored they are on this bill.
It is a strange thing to say, but it actually takes a lot of courage
for people to compromise in this place. The U.S. Congress today,
unfortunately, is in some ways set up to ensure that our divisions are
even more deeply rooted and that the chasm between us is made even
greater.
It really is up to each and every one of us to build a bridge over
that chasm, to find that pathway toward unity, and to focus, really, on
areas of agreement instead of areas of disagreement. It is what the
American people want. It is what the American people deserve.
A couple of my colleagues mentioned the trip to El Paso last weekend.
Since I was elected to Congress my first year in 2019, I have brought
over 25 percent of Congress--that number is probably even higher now--
to El Paso. I invite my colleagues to join me. The trips are really
insightful. We don't just talk to Border Patrol agents. We actually do
a very holistic evaluation and have robust conversations with everyone
that a broken system touches.
It helps put into perspective how complex the solution really is and
how unacceptable it is that we have gone so long without addressing
this solution.
I am going to close with this, Mr. Speaker, because my colleagues
have done such an effective job of advocating for this bipartisan
compromise. I mentioned just a little bit ago the large number of
supporting organizations that have come to us and told us they want to
help. They want to see this bill get to the floor. They want a
solution. The organizations range from left leaning to right leaning
and everything in between.
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to the Power and
Communication Contractors Association, a group that came to Washington
specifically to advocate for the Dignity Act. This is not a group I
reached out to. This is not a group that any of us called and invited
to D.C. They heard about the bill. They shared it with each other. They
are a trade organization that is trying to install broadband across
this country, especially in rural areas, but they are up against
workforce shortages.
When they learned of the Dignity Act, they reached out to me. They
asked me to speak to their group. I visited with them last week in the
evening after a long day here on Capitol Hill, and they gave me such
inspiration.
If regular Americans who are just trying to do their jobs are coming
to D.C. to beg us to do ours, something is very wrong, but something is
also very right. That means the American people are finally demanding
of us that we do our job.
I would be remiss if I didn't say this: My party should have worked
to compromise a long time ago.
Colleagues of mine on the other side of the aisle today are refusing
to compromise. They keep pointing to their bill, H.R. 2. They keep
saying this is the solution. I can tell you it is not.
A fundamental component to H.R. 2, something that is rarely talked
about but fundamental to H.R. 2, is that Mexico be willing to accept
every migrant the U.S. decides to expel. That has never happened, nor
will it ever happen, so H.R. 2 is not realistic.
House Democrats who are holding onto the perfect are not realistic,
either.
Let's come together. Let's fix this once and for all. Let's get to
work and bring this to the floor. Let's put everyone to the test. Do we
want a solution, or do we not?
On behalf of my colleagues and the millions of Americans who are
ready for this vote, let's get this done.
Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful for the opportunity to highlight this
very important bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________