[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23806]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IMMIGRANT WORKERS FREEDOM RIDE

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call attention to the 
hundreds, if not thousands, of workers that will be converging on 
Washington, D.C. today as part of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. 
The Freedom Riders are construction workers, cooks, farmworkers, 
landscapers, nurses, janitors, and even nannies. They work hard and 
they pay taxes. Like the Freedom Riders of 1961, today's Freedom Riders 
are advocating an end to unfair policies and unjust treatment. These 
policies deny millions a clear road to citizenship and make them 
vulnerable to abuses in the workplace.
  We should enact laws that reflect the reality of our economy's labor 
needs and that recognize the important contribution of immigrants. That 
is why I have introduced a resolution today supporting Freedom Ride and 
urging President Bush and the Congress to reform our broken immigration 
system.
  Over 2 years ago, President Bush pledged his support for an earned 
adjustment program for undocumented immigrants but has yet to deliver. 
Millions of immigrants and their families continue to live in the 
shadows, wanting to participate fully in American society.
  I urge my colleagues to support my resolution and call on the 
President and Congress to support the policies that ensure that all 
workers are treated with dignity and respect.

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