March 6, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 40 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 40
(House of Representatives - March 06, 2019)
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[Pages H2498-H2500] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2019, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, as the whip of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I am pleased to lead our second monthly Special Order hour. Last month, my colleagues and I spoke about the importance of comprehensive immigration reform. Since then, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force, led by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez of California, drafted a set of immigration principles, which our caucus has now adopted. We plan to use these as a guide as we work on developing a comprehensive immigration reform proposal. Chief among these principles is a timely path to citizenship for Dreamers and a permanent solution for those with temporary protected status and deferred and forced departure. Democrats made an important commitment to these communities. After a failed attempt at a bipartisan solution for Dreamers and TPS recipients last year, and again a few weeks ago, we said that if we regained control of the House, we would move quickly to fix this. Democrats have spent the last few weeks working just on that. In particular, two of our CHC colleagues, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, along with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, have been putting together a proposal that will provide overdue needed relief. Their Dream and Promise Act, H.R. 6, will be introduced next week. We are also grateful for the time and effort they have put into this critical legislation. That is why we wanted to take this month's CHC's Special Order to focus on Dreamers and TPS recipients. These are unique groups within our broader immigration community and their current plight--the uncertainty of their status--is entirely the fault of President Donald Trump and actions he took against them. For Dreamers, the American people have heard us talk about them for many years, but I think it serves reminding just who those folks are. Dreamers are mostly young adults whose parents brought them to this country when they were minors. They do not have legal immigration status in the United States. They are undocumented, just like I was once. They came here through no fault of their own. For the vast majority of them, the United States of America is the only country they have ever known. A good number of them grew up not even knowing they were in immigration limbo and at risk of being deported. Some only found out when they applied to college. Just think about that, Madam Speaker. You are a young high school student with your whole life ahead of you. You have dreams and aspirations for future careers and you are excited to take on a new chapter of your life. Then one day you find out that you are one of those undocumented folks you have been hearing about. There is now a barrier to your ability to get a higher education, to get a good job, to establish yourself in our society. President Obama recognized this injustice and he created a program that would give Dreamers relief from deportation, known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. This gave them some sense of certainty, and, most importantly, it gave them the legal status they needed to pursue an education and career, to buy a home, and begin raising a family. Nearly 800,000 individuals across the country receive DACA, and thousands more were still eligible. But President Trump abruptly chose to end the program as part of his anti-immigrant policies. Not only is this cruel and unjust, it is economic malpractice. According to the Center for American Progress, ending DACA will cost our GDP $460 billion. Let me say that again, Madam Speaker. Ending DACA will cost our GDP $460 billion. That is because it will mean removing 685,000 workers out of the workforce. If President Trump wants to promote economic growth, as he says, then why would he make such a horrible decision? I leave it up to the American people to sort out that mystery. Perhaps they can do it at the ballot box in a couple of years. TPS recipients. Now, what is worse, Madam Speaker, is that Dreamers aren't the only group President Trump has decided to throw into legal limbo. [[Page H2499]] Over the course of his 2 years in office, the President has ended also temporary protected status. I know you know that very well, Madam Speaker, because you represent the State of Florida. For thousands of individuals, the temporary protected status has been attempted to end. TPS is an incredibly important program. It allows individuals to stay and remain in the United States for an extended period of time if some emergency erupts in their home country that prevents them from being able to return. TPS has been using cases of severe natural disasters, as well as armed conflict. Only a few countries have been granted TPS. The program is so important because it allows these people, who would otherwise be in limbo for an unknown amount of time, to live their lives here in the United States, giving them the ability to work and establish themselves. Some countries have been designated under TPS for many, many years and are still not safe for individuals to return back home. That is why it has been routinely extended by Presidents of both parties. This is not a Republican or a Democratic program. Presidents of both parties have extended TPS. TPS holders are established members of our communities. They are workers, they are homeowners, they are our neighbors and they have children and families that have built their lives here. They deserve to stay, Madam Speaker. And the truth is our economy really needs them. More than 300,000 individuals are currently beneficiaries of TPS, but they account for more than $10 billion in spending power in our economy according to CAP. They pay local, State, and Federal taxes. Once more, so many TPS holders are the parents or relatives of thousands of U.S. citizen children, children who deserve to have their families stay together. In conclusion, Madam Speaker, families belong together. Whether they are separated at our border, whether they came here with a young child who only recently learned he or she was undocumented, whether they cannot return to a nation that is not able to receive them, they deserve to stay together, and they deserve to remain here in the United States, the place they now call home. During the rest of this hour, you will hear from a number of CHC colleagues from across the country about how important Dreamers and TPS recipients are to their respective districts, how these hardworking individuals are part of the very fabric of communities they represent. I look forward to hearing from them and sharing their stories with you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from the State of Illinois (Mr. Garcia) whose State is home to nearly 3,000 TPS holders and more than 42,000 DACA recipients. The GDP law, if DACA were to be removed, is $413 million, and TPS spending power in that State is $91.7 million. Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative Espaillat, for organizing this important hour to share the stories of those living in fear as a result of the actions of this administration. As a proud immigrant and representative of a Chicago district that is over one-third foreign born, I know and understand the need for a permanent solution to the status of immigrants in this country. We are long overdue for legislation that provides a path to citizenship for those with uncertain status. Madam Speaker, there are more than 11 million individuals, including children, living in the U.S. who are currently undocumented. Of those, there are over 3.6 million Dreamers, children who entered the U.S. before their 18th birthday, and over 1.8 million children eligible for deferred action because they were brought to the U.S. before their 16th birthday. Too many live in constant fear as a result of the cruel policies of this administration. {time} 1945 In Illinois alone, there are almost 40,000 individuals enrolled in the deferred action program, but this issue affects entire families, including those in mixed-status families. There are about 800,000 people in Illinois alone in families with at least one undocumented family member. I want to share a story of a Dreamer, like Beatriz, who is a constituent in my district, who came to this country at the age of 6. Like many, her parents brought her seeking refuge from hunger, poverty, and the violent drug wars ravaging Mexico and Central America. Despite the toughest odds, Beatriz graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with no financial aid and working a full-time job. Dreamers like Beatriz, if given the opportunity, are incredible assets to our country, not a drain. We should welcome hardworking immigrants like Beatriz and not make it harder for them to succeed and, in turn, grow our economy and enrich the cultural riches that makes America great. In Beatriz's own words: ``While I am always in fear of deportation, I am not afraid to work or to study.'' As an immigrant myself, I empathize with Beatriz and her story. Let me be clear: Putting Dreamers and TPS beneficiaries on a pathway to citizenship is just one of the many steps that we must take to undo the damage the Trump Administration has done. The current legal immigration system is broken, creating decades-long delays for family reunifications and exacerbating workforce gaps that harm our economy. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to over 11 million undocumented people in our country who live and work in fear and in the shadows. Immigrants--many of them are undocumented--are our teachers, engineers, your law enforcement officers. We are your firefighters, your plumbers, and your doctors. In some lucky instances, we are even your Representatives in Washington. These are people who contribute every day to our country, and it is time we act now to reasonable pathways to citizenship for these hardworking people. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding in order to share Beatriz's story. Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, let me just share some numbers with you from respective States across the country. The number of TPS holders, for example, in the State of California, over 50,000 of them; in your home State of Florida, Madam Speaker, over 44,000 of them; in Illinois, close to 3,000 of them; in Massachusetts, over 5,000 of them; in New Mexico, no data, but fewer than 1,500; in New York, over 25,000 of them; in Texas, over 46,000 of them. And the children living with these TPS recipients are, in California, over 43,000; in Florida, again, over 37,000; in Massachusetts, over 3,000; in New York, over 23,000; and in Texas, 49,000 children are living with TPS recipients. DACA recipients are also in large numbers. In the State of California, you have close to 223,000 DACA recipients; in Florida, close to 33,000 recipients; in Illinois, Madam Speaker, you have close to 43,000 DACA recipients; in New York, 41,000. So these are huge numbers for people who are so important to the fabric of our country, and that is why we are here to support them, because families that stay together are stronger together. When a family is divided, our Nation is weaker; when our family is together, our Nation is stronger. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Florida (Ms. Mucarsel- Powell), whose State is the home State to 45,000 TPS recipients and nearly 33,000 DACA recipients Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL. Mr. Speaker, DACA recipients are our neighbors. They are entrepreneurs, college graduates, educators, and healthcare providers. DACA recipients are helping our country lead in science, technology, and medicine. Jorge Cortes is one those DACA recipients. Jorge came to the United States from Colombia when he was a teenager. Despite his undocumented status, Jorge worked hard. He contributed to his community and eventually graduated from Florida International University. After graduating, he quickly established himself as an entrepreneur in Miami's technology and social innovation sector, eventually employing upwards of 15 people. For his entrepreneurship and leadership, Jorge was awarded the keys to both Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami. [[Page H2500]] A path to citizenship for DACA and TPS recipients like Jorge, would add $1.2 billion, annually, to Florida's economy. In our discussions about DACA, immigration reform, and the economy, it is easy to forget that DACA recipients are also people. DACA isn't just the right thing to do for our economy, it is the moral thing to do. It is time that our immigration system treats all of them as people, too. Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, as has been said here tonight, bringing relief, permanent relief to DACA recipients and TPS beneficiaries must not be delayed. Comprehensive immigration reform cannot continue to be delayed. That is why I am so happy, as I mentioned earlier, that in a week or two, H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, which promises to bring about comprehensive immigration reform in many ways for DACA recipients and TPS recipients and other immigrants, will hit this floor. We are hoping that all our colleagues from both sides of the aisle will recognize that this is an important effort to finally bring over 800,000 young people permanently to the United States, young people who are teachers, nurses, police offers, members of our Armed Forces. They are business owners. They purchase their own homes, in many cases. These are important members of our communities across the country, and we must allow them to stay in the United States of America. TPS recipients, many of them cannot return back to dangerous settings in their homeland. Many of them, their countries are reeling from natural disasters. It would be a travesty if we send them back home. They must be allowed to stay here in the United States of America. This is an important moment in our time. Families that stay together are stronger; families that are divided are weaker. Our country is made stronger when a family is together. That is why I am asking all in this Chamber from both sides of the aisle, next week, to support H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, which will finally bring relief to many, many young people and undocumented people from this Nation, as well as TPS recipients will finally breathe some fresh air and be able to stay here in this great Nation. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________
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