Immigration Legislation

Floor Speech

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Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, in less than a week, my office has received over 800 phone calls, emails, and letters from constituents regarding the crisis at the border, constituents who are alarmed, ashamed, and angry. Their outrage is warranted, and I share it.

A Chicago public school teacher called, in tears, unable to shake the vision of her second graders locked in cages.

A U.S. marine called to share his recent bouts of PTSD and explained that the crisis reminded him of the time he and other American soldiers were forced to take Vietnamese children away from their parents.

Countless constituents have pointed out the parallels between this inhumane practice and the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940s and even the concentration camps of World War II. Countless more wanted to commit to a call to action, but they don't know where to start or what could be done to combat the deplorable steps this administration has taken.

While an active and engaged constituency is imperative to a strong democracy, this isn't their problem to fix. The primary solution to this humanitarian crisis must come from the administration that arbitrarily created the problem in the first place.

Instead of stepping up to right this wrong and finally embrace the principles on which this country was founded, the President and his administration have spent the past week blaming the Democrats for the heartbreaking, life-changing mess that he has made.

Their attempts to cast blame and distract attention from the emergency at hand does not change the facts. At least 2,300 children remain separated from their parents, living in unconscionable conditions, many behind cage-like fencing and unsure of when or if they will be reunited.

In fact, the administration still does not have a coherent process for reuniting families, nor have they indicated that there ever will be one.

If the President wants a legislative fix to this solution, we have one for him. Earlier this week, I joined 190 of my Democratic colleagues to introduce the Keep Families Together Act. Unlike the meaningless executive order the President signed, this bill carries real weight and, with it, real change by effectively ending this abhorrent policy of separating families seeking safety and opportunity.

It clearly stipulates that no child is to be removed from their parent's custody, except under the most extreme of circumstance: instances of neglect, abuse, or risk of being trafficked. Beyond that, it establishes that no government agency can separate children from their parents for the sole purpose of deterring immigration to this country.

These children, the most innocent and vulnerable population, should never be used as leverage or a political bargaining chip. That is exactly what the President has tried to do.

We will not stand by and let the administration get away with that. Neither will the American people. We will continue to fight for a fairer immigration system that is humane, smart, and cost effective. First and foremost, we must address this horror at the border.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for providing this time.

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