[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 940-941]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  (Mr. O'ROURKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. O'ROURKE. Mr. Speaker, there are many details yet to divine as we 
bring our laws in line with our values in the coming debate over 
immigration reform, but I caution my colleagues against using 
additional enforcement and security measures as a condition and a 
pretext to delay much-needed reform.
  While we should always seek to improve the security of this country 
in ways that are consistent with our Constitution, I remind my 
colleagues of our efforts and the cost borne by border communities as 
we have worked to

[[Page 941]]

secure the border in the years since 
9/11.
  After we have spent billions on border walls, seen record-high 
deportations and record-low immigrant apprehensions, endured endless 
lines at our international ports of entry that threaten to destroy our 
economy and our way of life, it is time to focus on immigration reform 
and the secure, legal flow of people and trade.
  The people of El Paso, Texas, a city of immigrants that was recently 
ranked as the safest in the United States, can tell you this: pass 
comprehensive immigration reform, and you will have true border 
security.

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