[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 31403]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, like many other of my colleagues who spoke 
right before, who told stories about how the lack of immigration reform 
has affected many families, Madam Speaker, the time for Congress to 
pass immigration reform is long overdue.
  Our system is broken. Our country is less safe. Families are torn 
apart. And people are living in fear. For the Hispanic Caucus, this is 
an issue that is personal to a lot of us. Our communities should not be 
a punching bag for the vocal few. It's time to stop this hateful 
rhetoric that serves only to divide us and bully the vulnerable.
  Children should not be torn apart from their mothers. We have been 
asked to stand against what are American values of family, providing a 
chance to do better.
  America is a Nation of immigrants, not just from Mexico and Latin 
America but from Canada, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Immigration is not 
an Hispanic issue; it's an American issue. It's an American issue.
  We want to work together to create a real plan to combat hateful and 
often racist rhetoric that affects all of us. I ask my colleagues to do 
the right thing and not the political easy thing and to support real 
immigration reform.

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