[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15284]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RAUL RUIZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 2017

  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, there is no question that we should deport 
known criminal gang members who are undocumented. That's why I voted 
for H.R. 3697, the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act. However, I 
have real concerns about the overly vague language of this bill and 
believe there is much room to improve. We need to make sure that 
families, humanitarian aid workers, and religious institutions that 
help rehabilitate gang members are not penalized. I am disappointed 
that the House leadership did not follow regular order or allow 
amendments to the bill, so we could have addressed these concerns. I 
urge the Senate to work together to make improvements to the overly 
broad language in the bill.

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