Immigration Solution

Floor Speech

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Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, I don't have any notes in front of me. I just want to speak a little bit to this body about a topic that has been in the news, even as of this evening, and to just let folks know and to remind folks again about why we are pushing so hard to solve a problem that appears so easy to solve: the issue of the DACA population and the importance of comprehensive immigration reform, but more importantly, of solving this problem for this population of young people who know of no other country but the United States as their home.

Now, the public might hear terms like ``queen of the hill'' and ``discharge petitions,'' and, Madam Speaker, those terms may mean things to you and me, but for the general public, I just want to crystalize what it is we are fighting for. What we are asking for, a bipartisan group of Democrats and Republicans, we are asking for an opportunity to vote on immigration measures that would offer a solution to these young people.

Now, the measure that I support and that many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle support is one that would offer an earned path to citizenship for those individuals who work, go to school, or serve in the military. That doesn't seem like a stretch for the American public.

The American public, over 80 percent, support a solution for these young people. But in this body, it becomes a little more difficult; and in this body, sometimes things get in the way.

So I don't know the outcome of special meetings this evening or outcomes among discussions that colleagues have in the majority, but what I would remind folks again at home and my colleagues is that there are Democrats and Republicans underneath this dome who are working hard every day to try to offer a permanent solution to these young people-- not a temporary solution that punts this down for another day, but a permanent solution that would allow these young people to come out of the shadows, to continue to work, continue to teach, continue to live in our neighborhoods without fear.

So we don't have a lot of time left, Madam Speaker, and based on what I know today, I don't believe that there are any more signatures signing the discharge petition this evening. But I think what my colleagues and I want to underscore is that, to those young people who feel that this institution let them down once again--or maybe they feel that I let them down--that we are going to continue to work, that we are going to continue to offer our ideas and solutions, that we are going to continue to offer a path to citizenship for those who belong here, who were raised here, who know the United States as their home. That is our responsibility. It is what the Constitution allows us to debate and discuss.

It is unfortunate that, on the other side of Capitol Hill, the Senate had this debate and had this discussion and voted on four bills, some authored by just Republicans, some authored by a bipartisan group. They had an opportunity to debate and discuss what should transpire. We haven't had that opportunity.

Madam Speaker, I know it might not surprise you to know that the last time immigration was discussed on this House floor was in 2010, and it was when the DREAM Act passed, in a bipartisan way, in a lameduck session in December.

So the stakes are incredibly high, and what I would tell folks is that that just shows this isn't easy.

The last time immigration was discussed was 8 years ago on this floor. Since then, folks have felt that burying their head in the sand was a solution enough or just offering a partisan bill was a solution enough.

That is why we decided to engage in discussion and debate and to try to force this Chamber to have a bipartisan discussion and to try to force this Chamber to vote on three or four bills, some a little more conservative, some a little bit more left of center, right of center, but to have an opportunity to vote for one or multiple bills. It is just unfortunate, Madam Speaker, that there isn't enough political will, that there isn't enough strength in this Chamber among the Members to have that conversation.

Now, we could be dejected. We could be upset, and I know folks in our communities will be, but we are going to continue to work. We are going to continue to find a solution. We are going to continue to work in a bipartisan way, as we have done for the past 9 months since the President ended the DACA program. I feel that we owe it to our communities, we owe it to our constituents, we owe it to each other as colleagues to allow this place to do what it should do: debate and discuss bills.

I don't have much more to offer, Madam Speaker, but, I hope that folks at home understand how important this is and that there are some of us who are going to continue to engage in this discussion.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham).

Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, I thank my incredible colleague from California, Congressman Aguilar. This is a really personal issue to so many Members not only in this Chamber, but in our neighboring Chamber, the U.S. Senate: the notion that, after more than 6 months of bipartisan, bicameral efforts, this body cannot hold an effort to have just a debate in an environment where we clearly have the will of the entire body focused on the will of our constituents in this Nation to find a permanent solution for Dreamers, who, as my colleague so artfully stated, have no other country than this one as their own and the fact that that effort will not be undertaken because the leadership of this House refuses to do its job by allowing us the opportunity to debate bills and to share ideas and to move forward on pieces of legislation that truly make a difference in the lives of our constituents and the lives of Americans in every single community.

It is days like this I really appreciate that I have colleagues who keep their hope and their faith, and they have got my commitment to do the same.

But the nicest thing I can say is that it is really unfortunate that we find ourselves here at nearly 9:30 p.m. because we don't have the courage of Members to stay the course and do what is right, particularly now in an environment where instead of moving forward on the issues where more of us agree than not, in fact, we are seeing even more draconian, anti-American, probably, unconstitutional efforts at preventing asylum and refuge to others around the world, which is our constitutional basis in this country. And this was an opportunity to not only begin to deal with these issues, but to do what is right for these young people.

For those folks who are watching us tonight in this situation, I want to highlight who they are again.

In New Mexico, and, in fact, in my district, which is Albuquerque, New Mexico, the teacher of the year is a Dreamer. In a country where 20,000 educators are Dreamers, in a State where 5,000 young men and women are doctors, engineers, lawyers, educators, nurses, entrepreneurs, long-term care caregivers, providing the very supportive work for which this country has a serious shortage, because they are so committed to their communities and their families that they are taking on the challenges that too many of us are unwilling to do, yet this body, this Chamber refusing to allow the majority to take an action that would provide those young people with a protected, positive, productive future, the same thing that they have done for our communities, all of our communities, I find incredibly disheartening tonight.

But I, too, want to add my voice that I will continue to fight and work to find whatever pathways for a solution make the most sense in a body that makes no sense, particularly now.

I thank my colleague and my Republican colleagues who had the courage to work to force the debate when leadership refused to provide that avenue, who had the courage to force the debate when leadership did not hold their commitments to meet with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including myself, who failed to hold meetings so that we could work on ideas and strategies before getting to this point, who failed to provide any meaningful legislative idea, effort, text, any legislative solutions or strategy.

I want to thank Members like my colleague from California, and, actually, I assume that my colleague from California will yield to our colleague from Texas.

There are so many Members of this body who worked so incredibly hard to do, finally, the work that we were elected to do. I certainly want to give them my gratitude and my commitment that I will continue to do everything in my power to force this Chamber to do the job that we were all elected to do.

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Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments and her time. There are few people in this Chamber who have dug in deeper than the gentlewoman from New Mexico, Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, who actually, when the story of this discussion is told at some point in the future, it was her efforts that really highlighted and started to push us in a bipartisan way when we had conversations among Democrats and Republicans. And one of those early individuals who stood up and said, I am willing to have a real conversation with you if this can genuinely be a bipartisan effort, was the gentleman from Texas, who I have learned a lot from and gained a lot of respect for throughout this process.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd).

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Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas, not only for calling our attention to the Wired article, but also for his comments about solving this problem in a bipartisan way. He has been a true friend throughout this process, and I think we have all learned a lot from each other.

One of the things that he highlighted on as well was: How do you--how do we--I will speak personally, how do I have a conversation about border security?

My district doesn't touch the border. I can have conversations with individuals. I can go and do my due diligence and talk to Border Patrol, stakeholders, and advocates in the community. But it is going to take having conversations with those Members who represent the border, those Members in Arizona, New Mexico, California, and my colleague in Texas, who has the most mileage of any Member in Congress along the southern border.

We are going to continue to have these conversations because that is the only way we learn, that is the only way we grow, and that is the only way we can chart a course forward, is to do it in a bipartisan way.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to address this body, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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