[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16417-16420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bentivolio). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2013, the Chair recognizes the gentleman 
from Colorado (Mr. Polis) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, tonight we will be talking about a very 
important accomplishment that this body, the House of Representatives, 
could make on a bipartisan basis for our country, and that is 
immigration reform.
  By refusing to act on comprehensive immigration reform, there is 
great cost to the American people in jobs, the undermining of the rule 
of law, and destruction of the opportunities that will arise by 
tackling this head-on. The longer we delay passing comprehensive 
immigration reform, the greater the cost of inaction in both economic, 
human, and security terms. Every week that Congress is in session for 
the rest of the year, I will be here on the floor, talking about the 
cost of inaction on immigration reform.
  There is a clear path forward. There is a comprehensive immigration 
reform bill, a compromise. It took a little give-and-take from both 
sides, a compromise supported by the business community and labor, by 
the faith community, by the law enforcement community, by farmers, and 
by farmworkers, that has passed the United States Senate with more than 
a two-thirds majority.
  We have introduced a similar bill, H.R. 15, here in the House with a 
growing number of bipartisan cosponsors and are encouraging the Speaker 
and the majority leader to bring this bill to a vote, where we have 
confidence that it will pass.
  Our economy will suffer tremendously if we fail to pass comprehensive 
immigration reform. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget 
Office, immigration reform helps grow the economy, creating between 
500,000 and 1 million jobs, reduces the deficit by over $200 billion, 
bolsters job creation, and strengthens the viability of Social Security 
and Medicare. What is not to like?
  Let's restore the rule of law to our country. Let's improve our 
security, and let's unite families. In human terms, the cost of 
inaction is inflicting a heavy toll.
  Over 135,000 deportations have taken place since the Senate passed 
immigration reform last June, including thousands of people who are 
noncriminals who would have benefited from immigration reform and, 
instead, became a cost to U.S. taxpayers to the tune of more than 
$10,000 each to deport.
  Take a few examples from my district of people that immigration 
reform will help today. Dianna and Kathia are two young women from 
Larimer County in my district. They are high school students who were 
brought here from Mexico as young children by their parents. They are 
excellent students, both straight-A students. They want to go to 
college. Kathia wants to go to medical school, and Dianna wants to 
study cinematography.
  Both of these young women are applicants to the President's Deferred 
Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, and we hope that they 
receive their DACA permit soon, but that is only a temporary fix for a 
limited period of time. They are both ambitious, capable young women 
who want to give back to our country and make it stronger, if only we 
will let them.
  It is time to find a way for Kathia and Dianna and the so many like 
them to pursue their dreams and contribute to our communities without 
having to live in constant fear because of lack of status.
  Another woman in my district who feels the pain of our current broken 
immigration system is Norma. Norma came to the U.S. over a decade ago, 
like so many of our ancestors, including my great grandparents, in 
search of a better life. She is the mother and primary caretaker of 
twin boys who are U.S. citizens. Both of her children suffer from 
medical conditions, and she works incredibly hard to ensure that her 
kids have access to what they need. She is a hardworking, honest 
person, a leader in her community, doesn't have any criminal history or 
pose any kind of threat to national security. All she wants to do is to 
give back to our country, to pay taxes, and contribute like every other 
American.
  Nevertheless, Norma was placed in deportation proceedings last year 
following a traffic stop. If we don't reform our broken immigration 
system today, how many more families will be torn apart?
  People like Kathia, Dianna, and Norma feel the negative impact of 
this House of Representatives' failure to act on the Senate immigration 
reform bill every single day. There is no excuse for inaction. We need 
to finalize and pass immigration reform this year.
  I will be talking more about the cost of inaction in a few moments, 
but I want to yield to my good friend and colleague from Florida (Mr. 
Garcia), the sponsor of H.R. 15.

[[Page 16418]]


  Mr. GARCIA. I thank the gentleman from Colorado.
  Mr. Speaker, I have the distinct privilege of representing a district 
that, in the last several decades, has in large part been built by 
immigrants.
  I lived in south Florida during some very tough times for the 
immigrant community. I remember as a young man seeing bumper stickers 
on the backs of cars that said, ``Would the last American please bring 
the flag.'' But you know what? The flag still flies high in Miami. It 
is a thriving, growing economy and a beacon of work and opportunity for 
millions. People from all over are drawn to my community because they 
believe in the American Dream.
  My constituents know that immigrants only add to the American way of 
life. They make our country better. They create more opportunity for 
all. A vast majority of Americans recognize this.
  Some polls show that 70 to 80 percent of Americans support 
comprehensive immigration reform, with a pathway to citizenship. Fixing 
our broken immigration system isn't something that we can tackle on a 
step-by-step basis, only addressing parts of the problem.

                              {time}  2030

  It is a bill that secures our borders, builds our economy, and 
provides a way forward for millions of undocumented individuals living 
in the United States.
  With every day that passes, millions continue to live in the shadows 
and jobs continue slipping away overseas. This is an issue that is not 
simply about justice. It is about fairness. It is about ensuring, also, 
America's economic prosperity.
  In Florida alone, legalizing all of the currently undocumented 
immigrants would generate $1.3 billion in additional tax revenues and 
create 97,000 new jobs. Fixing our broken immigration system will help 
small businesses expand, foster innovation, increase productivity, 
raise wages, and help create thousands of jobs.
  The fight for comprehensive immigration reform is one that makes all 
Americans better, makes our country richer, and creates opportunity for 
all. In the history of the world, there has never been a great nation 
that was shedding citizens. In fact, great nations welcome 
opportunities.
  The last few weeks have not cast a positive light on the House of 
Representatives, but this is an issue where we can repair that broken 
image. It is possible to find a bipartisan compromise that is the right 
thing for our Nation to do. The costs of inaction are simply too high.
  More than enough Members of this Chamber understand the benefits of 
immigration, understand that it is a necessity for our country's 
prosperity, and understand that it is what we will do inevitably. Let's 
do it now. Let's do it right. Let's get it done.
  Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Miami, a leader on the effort 
to reform our broken immigration system.
  I want to talk about the overwhelming public support for immigration 
reform.
  More than 70 percent of the American people support immigration 
reform, including majorities of Republicans, Independents, and 
Democrats. The American people know that what we are doing now isn't 
working, and by failing to act and only continuing to perpetuate the 
undermining of the rule of law, a population of over 10 million people 
that are here illegally and a system that is out of whack with reality, 
will only continue to hurt the American people.
  With that, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Takano).
  Mr. TAKANO. I thank the gentleman from Colorado for yielding the 
time.
  Reforming our immigration system is one of the top issues in our 
Nation. I was happy to see the Senate act this past June when it passed 
a comprehensive immigration bill with an overwhelming bipartisan vote.
  The Senate bill solves many of the problems with our current 
immigration system. It creates a pathway to citizenship, secures our 
borders, addresses the current backlog, and helps the DREAMers, who 
were brought here through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, the 
push for immigration reform hit a brick wall when the legislation moved 
over to the House and Speaker Boehner flatly refused to bring it up for 
a vote.
  Sadly, this is not the first time Speaker Boehner and his 
irresponsible faction of the House Republican caucus have stood in the 
way of what is best for the American people, even though there is a 
clear governing majority that is ready to act. Despite Speaker 
Boehner's desperate attempt to follow the so-called rule which requires 
him only to allow votes supported by a majority of House Republicans, 
the governing majority has been able to pass several pieces of 
substantive legislation this year.
  Just who is this governing majority? It is made up of nearly the 
entire Democratic Caucus and a handful of moderate, sensible 
Republicans.
  In January of this year, a governing majority of 172 Democrats and 85 
Republicans came together to avoid the fiscal cliff, saving our economy 
from ruin.
  Several weeks later, when a majority of the Republican caucus stood 
opposed to relief for the victims of Superstorm Sandy, it took 
overwhelming support from Democrats and a small group of Republicans to 
help those in need.
  Shortly thereafter, the House passed the Senate's version of the 
Violence Against Women Act, providing protections for victims of 
domestic violence, with unanimous Democratic support and a portion of 
the Republican caucus.
  Then, in March, facing the deadline of a government shutdown, a 
temporary budget extension to keep the government funded until 
September 30 also needed the support of the Democrats to pass the 
House.
  Finally, despite claims indicating that the votes weren't there to 
pass a clean CR, the House reopened the government and avoided default 
with the unanimous support of Democrats and a group of Republicans.
  The reality is, to pass anything with substance, Speaker Boehner 
needs to stand up to the extreme faction of his party, stop blocking 
important legislation, and get out of the way and let the House of 
Representatives work its will. America needs Democrats and Republicans 
to come together. We have seen what can be accomplished when we are 
united.
  And who are we kidding about the Hastert rule? The Speaker has 
already violated it multiple times this year.
  In the lead-up to the most recent crisis, he said that he didn't want 
the government to shut down or default on its debts. If Speaker Boehner 
truly meant that, he would have turned to the governing majority and we 
would have avoided a 16-day shutdown that cost our country $24 billion 
in economic activity.
  The governing majority has done its job with the fiscal cliff, with 
aid to Superstorm Sandy, with the Violence Against Women Act, and the 
recent government shutdown and debt ceiling negotiations. We have 
escaped manufactured crisis after manufactured crisis. I know that the 
American people are eagerly waiting for the House of Representatives to 
pass meaningful legislation that addresses our challenges.
  The governing majority is ready to do its job once again with 
comprehensive immigration reform. As millions of Americans and aspiring 
Americans are waiting for this body to act, it is time to put aside the 
theatrical displays, Mr. Speaker. Let us govern so we can bring our 
brothers and sisters out of the shadows.
  I believe that if the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill 
came to the floor of the House, the governing majority would once again 
do what is right for the American people and pass this important 
legislation. Let's vote on the Senate's bill and fix our broken 
immigration system. The time is now.
  Mr. GARCIA. I thank the gentleman from California.
  I take this opportunity to sort of point out that, as he talks about 
the governing majority, we are seeing a coalition already built around 
immigration reform. In a bill that was filed less

[[Page 16419]]

than 3 weeks ago, we already have 187 cosponsors, which puts us in a 
very good place to pass it if it is allowed to come to the floor. That 
means that already 95 percent of Democrats have signed on to the bill. 
That means that a Democratic Senate already passed out a bill and that 
the President stands ready to sign a comprehensive immigration reform 
if it gets to his desk.
  So our hope is that in the days to come, the 17 days left of working 
session before the end of the year, that we will find the will to bring 
something to the floor so that we can move this forward.
  With that, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado.
  Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Miami.
  I want to talk a little bit about supporting Colorado.
  Colorado is a purple State. It is middle of the road, with four 
Republicans and three Democrats in our congressional delegation. It is 
a State that is affected by immigration. We have a strong tradition of 
immigration in our district, a strong exchange of economic ties with 
our neighboring countries.
  Here are some recent polls in a few of our congressional districts in 
our State:
  In the Third Congressional District, represented by my friend, 
Congressman Scott Tipton, a recent poll showed that 77 percent of the 
people in the district--this is the district including Pueblo, Grand 
Junction, and Aspen--support immigration reform with a pathway to 
citizenship. Only 17 percent oppose it.
  In the neighboring district of my good friend Cory Gardner, the 
Fourth Congressional District of Colorado, 76 percent support 
immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.
  In the district of my friend and colleague Mike Coffman of Aurora, 
Colorado, and Douglas County, 74 percent support immigration reform 
with a pathway to citizenship.
  Failure to act and avoid this issue is, in fact, not delivering for 
the American people. One cannot speak out of both sides of their mouth 
forever and say that in some abstract sense we are for immigration 
reform but not give this body the ability to pass immigration reform. 
The American people, Mr. Speaker, are smarter than that.
  It has been 123 days since the Senate has passed an immigration 
reform bill. And you know what? We have H.R. 15 in the House. We want 
that to come to a vote. But there may be other immigration reform 
packages. I know there has been a bipartisan group that has been 
meeting for awhile. Recently, some of the Members have pulled out. If 
there are other ideas, let's put them on the table. But inaction for 
123 days is inexcusable--inexcusable.
  The time for action is not now. It wasn't just yesterday. It was last 
year. It was 5 years ago. It was 10 years ago. We can't afford to 
continue to wait day after day, week after week, year after year, 
without taking action. The American people, Mr. Speaker, have had 
enough and are demanding more.
  There is something that we know for sure. The enforcement-only 
approach has failed. It hasn't worked. The number of people here 
illegally has only increased. We have increased the budget of the 
Border Patrol by 10 times, and the number of unauthorized people here 
illegally increased by 3 times during that same period.
  So what does that mean? If we increase that budget 20 times, does 
that mean the number of people here illegally will quadruple? Maybe. 
But that is clearly not a solution; just look at the data.
  And there is a human toll, Mr. Speaker. From 1998 to 2010, over 5,000 
people died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border looking for a better life, 
just as my ancestors did, Mr. Speaker, and just as your ancestors did.
  From 1998 to 2007, over 100,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were 
removed from this country. Yes, little Johnny, little Sara coming home 
from school, they are American. They were born here. They will vote 
some day. Coming home from school and, Sorry, Mom is in deportation 
proceedings. Your mom won't be here for you, little Johnny or little 
Sara. What did she do? A taillight out on her car or 10 miles over the 
speed limit.
  I got a speeding ticket last year, Mr. Speaker. I have a 2-year-old 
son, Mr. Speaker. To think something like that could force me to be 
ripped from my family--not for months, not for years--forever.
  There is something called the lifetime bar, Mr. Speaker. Forever 
being taken away from my family, Mr. Speaker, I would risk crossing 
that border and dying--like 5,000 people did--to be with my son, Mr. 
Speaker. And that is an American trait. That is what a good American 
would do. That is what a good American parent would do, Mr. Speaker.
  Let's let people give back to our country and provide for their 
families. That is an American value, and we can do that now.
  My colleague, Mr. Takano, talked about a governing majority. There is 
a governing majority for passing H.R. 15, the Comprehensive Immigration 
Reform bill, now.

                              {time}  2045

  I can't tell you whether it is 25 Republicans or 45 Republicans or 80 
Republicans, but they will join nearly every Democrat, if not every 
Democrat, in passing comprehensive immigration reform now.
  I ask my colleague from Miami if he has ever seen this kind of 
coalition of business and labor and faith-based community and 
agriculture and farm workers--unlikely suspects--coming together around 
something that is such common sense. Have you seen this kind of 
unprecedented coalition of public support on any other issue, and what 
do you think it means for immigration reform?
  Mr. GARCIA. I would like to thank the gentleman from Colorado, and I 
think he is absolutely right.
  This is an unprecedented partnership with business, labor, the tech 
community all coming together around a basic thing--to help our country 
move forward. I think about all of the opportunities that we are 
missing and of all of the places that are doing better than we are in 
competition because we don't offer a pathway forward.
  I would mention to the gentleman from Colorado that there are 130,000 
Chinese students in the United States right now, that there are 
somewhere in the neighborhood of 90,000 Indians studying in the United 
States, that there are 70,000 South Koreans studying in the United 
States. Under the present immigration system, if your company thinks, 
``Hey, I can hire this guy, and it will be good for us,'' they just 
can't. He has got to go home. So we are sending them home to come back 
and compete with our workers when we could offer them a future here and 
when they could create a better future for other Americans.
  This is something we have done always. We take people from all over 
the world, and we put them to work for America in the best interest of 
America. Yet, under our broken immigration system, you just can't do 
it.
  Mr. POLIS. I represent a district with two fine universities--the 
University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University. Both 
have excellent graduate programs--engineering, physics, environmental 
engineering, the biological sciences, you name it. Like many of our 
institutions of higher education, a high number of students there are 
foreign nationals who are studying under student visas.
  Under our current immigration policy, Mr. Speaker, at our public 
State institutions, we provide this world-class education for people 
who fill a need in the economy--they are going to be great engineers; 
they are going to be great mathematicians; they are going to be great 
computer scientists. Guess what? They graduate with a master's, and 
they graduate with a Ph.D., and what do we tell them? Oh. Go back to 
another country, and compete against us.
  Compete against us. We are telling them to compete against us. How 
does that make sense, Mr. Speaker?
  What we need to do is to provide a way--and the Senate bill and H.R. 
15 do this--for people who graduate with advanced degrees in these 
fields to be able to stay here, keeping the jobs

[[Page 16420]]

here, because guess what? Today's companies don't care where the jobs 
are. You can be a computer programmer in India. You can be a computer 
programmer in France. You can be a computer programmer here. Out of 
convenience, we would rather have you here, but the job is going to 
follow you. It is not the other way around.
  In addition, if we act with H.R. 15, it will lead to over $5 billion 
in additional tax revenues. It will reduce our deficit by over $200 
billion. It will create between three-quarters of a million and 900,000 
jobs for Americans--jobs for Americans that are created under H.R. 15. 
It includes provisions around startups and entrepreneurs--people who 
want to come here to found companies and hire Americans. Don't we want 
that? Don't we want jobs for our brothers, our sisters, our friends, 
and our neighbors, jobs for Americans? H.R. 15 is the biggest jobs bill 
for Americans before the House of Representatives, and that is another 
reason we need to pass it.
  Mr. GARCIA. I would also add to that the report that the 
Congressional Budget Office has released.
  Here is what we know: in the next 10 years, if we move forward with 
comprehensive immigration reform, it will produce $175 billion to the 
U.S. economy. Here is what we know even further: in the 10 years after 
that, it will produce $870 billion to our economy. This is a net 
positive overall.
  For my colleagues across the aisle who love to talk about the 
deficit, who love to talk about the fact that our country isn't 
bringing in revenue, here is revenue that is sitting there--people who 
are working, people who are ready to contribute to the American 
economy. They are there, and we know that, if we bring them out from 
the shadows and give them a pathway forward, they will make our Nation 
richer, and they will make our country better.
  Mr. POLIS. So we can improve our security, and we can restore the 
rule of law, and we can create jobs for Americans, and we can reduce 
our deficit--all in one bill? What is not to like?
  I yield to my colleague from probably the longest congressional 
district in the country. I don't know if it is the largest in area, but 
I think it is probably the longest in the country. I yield to my good 
friend from Texas.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Thank you for yielding.
  We were visited today by a group called Bibles, Badges and Business. 
One of the Bible passages which was quoted to me today is in the Gospel 
according to St. Matthew, in which he talks about, I was hungry, and 
you gave me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink. I was a 
stranger, and you took me in.
  That is the genesis, I think, for a lot of people who want, from a 
Christian ethics' perspective, to support immigration reform.
  You also have the people who support immigration reform, frankly, 
because of the idea that they are parents. Frankly, I think any parent 
understands that, once you hold that kid in your arms for the first 
time, I mean, you will do anything you have to do to make sure your 
little boy or your little girl eats.
  Then there are the economic arguments that we have been talking 
about. For me, the economic arguments also are so important because the 
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for example, has cited a study that shows 
that immigrant-owned businesses would generate more than $775 billion 
in revenue with $125 billion in payroll and $100 billion in income. 
That is pretty impressive.
  Do you know what percentage of the American workforce they could 
employ if they were unleashed? They could employ 1 out of every 10 
workers, which is just a phenomenal statistic.
  The other thought that I find really interesting is, of course, that 
immigrants are also consumers, and when they consume, they further 
drive the job growth. Now, many Members of Congress and, certainly, 
many people from Texas are familiar with George W. Bush.
  Do you know there is now a George W. Bush Institute? Were you aware 
of that?
  The George W. Bush Institute has, frankly, been a very strong 
proponent of immigration reform, and it has produced a 65-page document 
titled ``Growth and Immigration'' which states that immigrants serve as 
catalysts for growth. In fact, the report from the George W. Bush 
Institute says that communicating the positive economic contributions 
of immigrants is the first step in helping Americans recognize the 
hidden advantages of immigration. The institute is confident that 
bipartisan solutions exist and that, when properly informed, Americans 
agree more on this topic than they realize. That is pretty impressive 
coming from the George W. Bush Institute.
  Further, the Congressional Budget Office shows that immigration 
reform wouldn't negatively impact U.S. workers and that it would reduce 
the Federal budget deficit by $175 billion.
  So I think it is important that we get the facts out and that we make 
a difference because comprehensive immigration reform is so important 
to everybody from across the border. I have never seen so many groups 
unified to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
  Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his words.
  This is 123 days. That is 123 days too long. Let's pass immigration 
reform now.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________