[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15302-15303]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1010
                           AMERICA'S LATINOS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I'm here today to make an introduction. I 
would like the Republican Party to meet America's Latinos. It's hard to 
meet us all at once--there are more than 53 million of us--but let me 
tell you a little bit about who we are and what we do.
  First of all, most Latinos are citizens; and, in fact, most of us 
have been here for many generations. We live all over the United 
States, and our population is growing fast. In fact, every single year, 
500,000 young Latino citizens turn 18 and become eligible to vote. Of 
Latinos under the age of 18, 93 percent are already citizens of the 
United States of America. In this last election, one in 10 voters were 
Latino. In another decade, we will be 25 percent of the voting age 
population in this great Nation of ours.
  Here's a key fact about the more than 16 million Latino immigrants. 
They work; and they work hard, often in jobs that are the hardest to 
fill, picking grapes and garlic, caring for young children in day care 
centers, sweeping and cleaning as janitors, and, yes, digging ditches 
and making sure our dishes are washed. You know what else they do? They 
pay taxes, regardless of their legal status.
  But here's one last fact you should know about Latinos. They love 
America. And, my Republican friends, I promise you, in time, you'll 
love us, too.
  I hope this introduction is helpful, but I know it's a little late. 
The Republican Party really met Latinos on Election Day. At about 11 
p.m., when the race was over, pundits, political strategists, and 
Republican candidates opened their eyes to discover who really lives 
and votes in the U.S. It looked liked we were watching Columbus stumble 
across America. Latino voters, who knew? Demographic changes moving as 
slow as glaciers, but this one seemed to sneak up on the news media 
like a sudden thunderstorm.
  I've been trying to introduce my colleagues to real Latinos and 
immigrants for some time. I've worked on bipartisan comprehensive 
immigration reform bills and stayed at the table to work out a 
compromise even after all Republicans had left the table. But the 
Republican Party seemed much more interested in the imaginary Latinos 
they tried to use as a wedge issue, so they crafted messages aimed at 
the very few Americans who are not offended when immigrants are 
referred to as criminals, gang-bangers, freeloaders, and lawbreakers 
whenever they are spoken about in America.
  The party nominated a Presidential candidate who carried around a to-
do list of creative ways to offend Latinos. It called for the 
deportation of more than 10 million families and say to self-deport, 
check; celebrate the extreme Arizona approach to immigration laws, 
check; threaten to veto the DREAM Act and let hundreds of thousands of 
young people who have applied for deferred action fear for their 
future, check; stand with other Republicans and beg for their 
endorsement when they have called for electrified fencing to keep out 
immigrants because ``that works on livestock,'' check, check, check.
  I believe Election Day was a checkmate for extreme, unfair, and 
intolerant anti-immigrant policies. Now, we need to come together to 
make progress.
  In truth, some Democrats did not seem to really see this new 
electorate either or see the change coming. Too many Democrats did not 
see immigration reform as an urgent issue or recognize the need for 
change in a country that deports 1,000 people a day.
  We need to set aside the mistakes of both parties and do what is 
right for the American people, including Latinos and immigrants. We 
need to invite Democrats and Republicans to sit at a big table to work 
out immigration reform as soon as possible.
  I have suggested that President Obama set up that big table at Camp 
David and invite leaders from both parties to discuss how we forge the 
coalition to pass comprehensive immigration reform. I think after the 
Election Day wake-up call, there are more and more of us willing to 
come to that table and negotiate, including friends in the Republican 
Party.
  We have heard from Republican leaders who want to be at that table. I 
know some Republicans want to come to the table because they want the 
immigration issue off the table. They want it off the table because 
they are worried about Democrats running the table in statewide and 
national elections for the foreseeable future.
  But listen, whatever your reason for coming to the table, please 
come. Together, we can fight for justice for immigrants. Together, we 
can reestablish the rule of law. Together, we can make immigration one 
of the greatest and most defining aspects of American society instead 
of something that divides us. Together, we can make Americans see that 
we can work together--Republicans and Democrats--as Americans first. 
So, please, join us and do what's right for this great Nation of ours.

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