[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 476-477]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              FOR THE RELIEF OF JEANETTE VIZGUERRA-RAMIREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JARED POLIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 10, 2014

  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the case of Jeanette 
Vizguerra Ramirez. I have introduced a bill on her behalf in an effort 
to prevent the senseless destruction of her family in light of her 
tremendous contributions to her community and the immigrant rights 
movement in Colorado.
  Jeanette Vizguerra Ramirez has been in the United States since 1997. 
She has three young U.S. citizen children, and two citizen 
grandchildren. She is a devoted mother and grandmother who routinely 
volunteers with a local elementary school to ensure the success of her 
children, as well as that of their respective peers. Ms. Vizguerra 
Ramirez has also established extraordinarily strong ties to Colorado 
through her tireless work with numerous community organizations. 
Several news outlets have documented her commitment to improving the 
lives of members of her community through her volunteerism and 
advocacy. It

[[Page 477]]

is abundantly clear that Ms. Vizguerra Ramirez is a positive influence 
in her community, and that she does not pose a threat to those around 
her. Nevertheless, despite her long-term residence, strong family ties, 
and extensive community contributions to the U.S., Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement currently seeks to remove her to her country of 
origin.
  We can no longer afford to sit idly by while our limited tax-payer 
enforcement dollars are spent producing such untenable outcomes. While 
our continued inability to modernize our broken immigration system is 
bad for businesses, the overall economy and the federal deficit, it is 
completely devastating to hundreds of thousands of families who suffer 
the consequences every year.
  The U.S. House of Representatives has neglected its responsibility to 
address our broken immigration system for far too long. Every passing 
day brings devastating consequences to thousands of families throughout 
our country. Our current enforcement-centric approach is a relic of 
another time that needlessly destroys families, and leaves thousands of 
U.S. citizen children without one or more of their parents. This 
approach runs contrary to our American system of values.

                          ____________________