[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6776]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              PROVISIONS HARMFUL TO IMMIGRANTS AND AMERICA

  (Mr. CARDENAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, last night we voted on the National 
Defense Authorization Act, and today we voted on a military 
construction and Veterans Affairs bill. Both contain provisions that 
are harmful to immigrants and America.
  I proposed two amendments to the NDAA, and I am disappointed that 
they were not given a chance to be voted on.
  The NDAA bill that passed prohibits the use of unused military 
grounds to house unaccompanied immigrant children while their asylum 
case is being processed. My amendment would have allowed the Office of 
Refugee Resettlement to increase its shelter capacity by temporarily 
housing unaccompanied children in unused DOD facilities.
  I also offered an amendment that would guarantee DACA recipients with 
in-demand skills to enlist in our military through the MAVNI program 
for as long as the program exists. To deny brave and dedicated men and 
women the opportunity to defend this great Nation is just un-American.

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