Securing America's Future Act of 2018

Floor Speech

I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4760, a bill that doubles down on the President's cruel zero-tolerance policy. This harsh anti-immigrant, anti-American bill is the realization of the President's cruel immigration and border security rhetoric and policies.

Remember when the Republican Party used to say it was the party of family values? H.R. 4760 is focused on families, but not in a good way. It is focused on separating families, incarcerating families, and eliminating pathways for family-based immigration.

Remember when the Republican Party used to say it was the party of law and order? Well, it does take action with respect to local law enforcement, but not in a good way. It would withhold Homeland Security and other law enforcement grants from so-called sanctuary cities that, for the purpose of public safety, seek to foster trust from immigrant communities.

Law enforcement officials across the country oppose this provision because it would make their communities less safe. For example, Latinos in three major cities have been reporting fewer crimes since President Trump took office, particularly as it relates to domestic violence and sexual assault.

Finally, remember when the Republican Party used to say it was the party of fiscal discipline? Well, no more.

If enacted, H.R. 4760, would require billions of taxpayers' dollars to be wasted on the President's border walls, which I seem to recall hearing that it will be paid for by the Mexican Government. Now they want the taxpayers of America to pay for it.

It also waives the paygo scorecard. So now you pull a hat trick. You spend the money, but you don't score it. So, ultimately, it won't show up in our budget numbers. Shame on you.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on H.R. 4760, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, we all recognize the sovereignty of our country, but we also recognize its diversity, and we all are immigrants. So let's get over it.

Miss RICE of New York. Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that we are wasting our time today on two bills that are harmful and hyperpartisan when we all know that the USA Act, introduced by Representatives Aguilar and Hurd, have the votes to pass on this House floor.

This bipartisan solution would finally provide our Dreamers, college students, veterans, servicemembers, and business owners with the status and certainty that they have long deserved. The USA Act would also effectively secure our borders without wasting taxpayer money on a wall that would not make us any safer.

The bills being considered today are simply not what most Americans want. They deny Dreamers a path to citizenship. They abandon our obligation to protect those fleeing persecution and violence. And they do nothing to reunite the families who have already been torn apart by the Trump administration.

Mr. Speaker, I urge you to do the responsible thing, to finally govern, and allow the bipartisan USA Act to come to the floor.

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding the time.

I would offer to say that those Guatemalan Americans, El Salvadoran Americans, those Americans from the country of Mexico, and others who serve in the United States military, certainly reflect the diversity of this Nation.

I would offer to say that, sadly, this is the image that is America today. It is not the Statue of Liberty. I stand to oppose this bill because I know, as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, we had a plan that was bipartisan that would provide for border security that included technology and barriers.

Now, we have succumbed to a process which every good-thinking person has to oppose, including the business community. Law enforcement opposes this legislation, in particular, because it makes communities less safe.

Just this week a Texas sheriff's deputy was arrested for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl and threatening to deport the undocumented mother if she reported the claim. Good law enforcement officers understand that they need to have people report the crime.

We know that it was an immigrant, a researcher, who helped us get the polio vaccine.

Finally, young people who now are coming to this country, snatched away from their parents, unaccompanied youngsters as well, will no longer have the protections of the special immigrant juvenile status. It strips crucial protections for abused, abandoned, and neglected children by limiting their ability to access special immigrant juvenile status.

This bill is a bad bill. It is not an immigration bill. It is a bad bill and it really is not for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, as you heard, H.R. 4760 is fatally flawed. We are here only today debating it because the Republican leadership was essentially extorted by extremists within its ranks.

Instead, we should be here debating legislation to give Dreamers a path to citizenship. We should be here debating legislation to give safe haven to refugees from Haiti, El Salvador, Sudan, and Nicaragua.

We should be here debating a measure to end zero tolerance and family separation. Even before the Trump administration created this family separation crisis, America's image was suffering the effects of the Trump slump due to the President's inflammatory and cruel immigration and border security policies and rhetoric.

In fact, last June, the Pew Research Center released an international survey that concluded that sentiment regarding the U.S. had taken a dramatic turn for the worse.

What the President and supporters of H.R. 4760 do not understand is that what makes America great is its people, both native-born and immigrants.

Let's send a message to the President that we know what makes America great. Let's defeat H.R. 4760.

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