[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6433-6434]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE BUDGET DOES NOT HAVE MY VOTE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I will admit that I am pleased that the 
deal worked out between Democratic leadership and Republicans to keep 
the government open until October does not include funding for the 
President's ``tremendous'' border wall. But let's put that in 
perspective.
  A border wall will not deport thousands of people living and working 
in cities across the Nation or moms and dads in my neighborhood. A 
border wall will not deport anyone, and I seriously doubt it would do 
any good keeping anyone out, either.
  Building a 3,000-mile wall is a hugely expensive boondoggle to solve 
a policy problem many say we don't have. Border apprehensions have been 
going down steadily for years, and now we have people fleeing violence 
and persecution who are so scared of us they are deciding not to come 
to America and are applying for asylum somewhere else. They are not 
taking their legitimate claims for political asylum and safety to the 
Nation that is the hallmark of freedom.
  So while even Donald Trump admits that border apprehensions are 
significantly down, he says, 75 percent, it is not necessarily for 
reasons we should be proud of.
  But a wall? Are policy experts and pundits really discussing whether 
fifth century technology plays a role in modern homeland security? The 
Great Wall of China boosts tourism. It is not a factor in national 
security.
  What concerns me more is the spending on deportation that is still in 
the bill we will be voting on today. $1.2 billion of Trump's original 
$3 billion request for border security and interior enforcement is 
still there. Any money we give those agencies at this point will find 
its way into funding the President's mass deportation agenda.

[[Page 6434]]

  Now, imagine if we were applauding the approval of a budget that had 
$1.2 billion in new funding to roll back Roe v. Wade, additional 
funding from the Federal Government to restrict women's healthcare and 
reproductive rights. Well, I would never vote for that budget.
  But what if Trump asked us for $3 billion but we only gave him $1.2 
billion to undermine workplace safety laws and labor rights? I would 
never do that.
  Let's just say it was $1.2 billion to defeat environmental 
regulations that protect clean air and water. Would we celebrate? I 
don't think so.
  Would we celebrate $1.2 billion in additional money to weaken the 
Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts? Would we celebrate more money to 
combat and weaken same-sex marriage or take away transgender rights? I 
wouldn't.
  Adding $1.2 billion to the budget to make it easier for the U.S. 
Government to deport people should never be celebrated by any of us, 
and certainly not in the era of Trump when we know their number one 
policy priority is to scare immigrants into leaving or not coming in 
the first place.
  Look, the people who will be deported with the money we are voting on 
are usually people with no criminal background and deep roots in their 
communities. They are parents, teachers, businessowners, mostly people 
of color, who have lived and worked here a long time and are here, in 
many cases, seeking refuge, as is their right under our laws and 
international law.
  Yes, some are dangerous criminals, but don't believe the hype. The 
Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are overhauling 
who we define as serious criminals so they can make their deportation 
force look benign and sometimes even beneficial.
  Mr. Speaker, I will not be voting for the omnibus bill because I 
don't believe that it is okay to slip another billion here or there 
into the budget to break up and destroy families, put moms and dads in 
detention, and send DREAMers out of the country--the only country they 
have ever known.
  I have looked into the eyes of children, of kids, U.S. citizens, 
whose parents have been deported. I have spoken to teachers in Chicago 
and across the country who have to deal with the fear in their 
students' lives every day. I have worked for decades with families who 
have complied--yes, for decades, I have worked with families who have 
complied with every order they have been given by Homeland Security and 
have reported to authorities like clockwork, but now when they report, 
they are deported from the United States of America.
  I cannot turn around and bless more money for the machinery that is 
grinding up families. I just won't do it. And I will not turn my back 
on the immigrant community of the United States of America by 
supporting funding that will be used to detain immigrants in private 
jails and put them on airplanes out of the country.
  Mr. Speaker, as long as we are going to shortchange health care in 
Puerto Rico and subsidize the deportation of families in Chicago, the 
budget will not have my vote.

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