[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12101-12102]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE UNITED STATES--A NATION OF LAWS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. DesJarlais) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DesJARLAIS. Mr. Speaker, there is no denying that we are a kind 
and caring Nation. We have always welcomed those who have come to this 
country in order to make better lives for themselves and their 
families. In fact, many of the successes we have achieved in the fields 
of science, business, and art are directly attributable to individuals 
coming here with their ideas and ambitions.
  But we are a Nation of laws.
  Granting amnesty to those who have come here illegally not only 
erodes the rule of law, but it is unfair to the millions of folks who 
have respected our legal system and are working to gain citizenship in 
the right way. Further, undocumented immigration poses a threat to our 
national security. We have no way of tracking whether these individuals 
who are crossing our borders have ties to criminal enterprises, 
terrorism, or whether they are even carrying dangerous communicable 
diseases.
  This is why it is critical we secure our borders.
  The recent surge of illegal immigration at the border is a direct 
result of the Obama administration's failed policies. According to the 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, over the past year, there has been 
a 92 percent increase in the number of unaccompanied children crossing 
over our southwestern border. By usurping the legislative process and 
changing parts of existing laws while refusing to enforce others, the 
Obama administration has created an immigration policy that rewards 
those who have come here illegally.
  Now the President has requested $3.7 billion to purportedly combat 
this immigration crisis. Unfortunately, according to the 
administration's own

[[Page 12102]]

proposal, only a small portion of that money--roughly 9 percent--would 
be used to actually secure our southern border. Rather, if history has 
shown us anything, it is that, if we give this President a blank check, 
he will simply squander it on furthering his far-left agenda. 
Therefore, I urge my colleagues to reject the President's request and 
to, instead, use our resources, including the National Guard, in an 
effort to strengthen our border security and deport those who have come 
here illegally.
  United States immigration policies are some of the most generous in 
the world, but we simply cannot condone illegal immigration. To that 
end, I will continue to support by any means necessary, whether 
legislative or legal, to ensure our current laws are enforced and to 
prevent this President from unilaterally implementing policies that 
circumvent our rule of law.

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