June 4, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 93 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H4298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       COMMENDING IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS AND GRASSROOTS ORGANIZERS

  (Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, today is a profoundly important day. 
It is the day that we passed the American Dream and Promise Act.
  So many have fought for so long to reform America's immigration 
system, and I commend the activists and grassroots organizers who made 
this happen, the families and young people who shared their stories to 
press this moment into fruition.
  I also want to highlight the tactics that are used to ensure that we 
do not pursue immigration reform. Labeling communities as gang members, 
criminals, drug dealers, and bad parents, we have seen this playbook 
before. It was the playbook that was used to pass the 1994 crime bill, 
mass incarceration, the War on Drugs, to target a community, to make 
sure to dehumanize them into increased enforcement.
  We have to make sure that we recognize immigrants as among the 
greatest potential of innovation and profound sources of potential in 
our country.

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