American Dream and Promise Act of 2019
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLINE. I am in its current form.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, this amendment will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, the American people are sympathetic, forgiving, and reasonable people. They understand the idea of providing some type of certainty and stability for the approximately 700,000 DACA-eligible recipients who were brought to the United States by their parents at a young age and who otherwise have played by the rules while growing up in this country.
Mr. Speaker, what they don't understand is providing green cards and a path to citizenship for violent gang members, national security threats, and those who, through their disdain for our laws, thumb their noses at Lady Liberty and the Constitution of the United States.
They definitely don't understand why this bill treats men and women at the Department of Homeland Security like they are the dangerous ones, preventing them from receiving and utilizing readily available information in order to remove gang members, national security threats, and other public safety threats from our country to keep our families, our communities, and our Nation safe.
This motion to recommit simply says that if an alien has been designated a danger to Americans, then they don't deserve to become an American.
It provides that aliens whose applications are denied on the basis of criminal activity, national security risks, or as violent gang members are automatically referred to the Department of Homeland Security for a determination of removability from the United States.
Under this bill, information about criminal activity provided in an application for a green card may not be used for the purpose of immigration enforcement, even if the application is denied or withdrawn.
In practice, this means that, if an applicant has a murder conviction or if the applicant is a gang member and DHS knows about it because of the application, they can't refer that person for removal. It is just wrong.
The perverse and practical effect of H.R. 6 is that criminal aliens, gang members, terrorist threats, and other public safety threats who could be denied a green card will simply stay in this country, as if we are simply a sanctuary nation.
Mr. Speaker, some cities might want to be sanctuary cities, but most Americans want safety from crime, not sanctuary for criminals.
This MTR also does not affect the stay of removal provisions in H.R. 6 or the provisions relating to finality of adjudication in the bill. Thus, the alien cannot be removed until they have exhausted their appeals and received a final decision on their application.
If Democrats see fit to exclude criminals, national security risks, public safety risks, and gang members from receiving green cards, then they should vote for this motion to recommit to ensure those dangerous aliens are also denied a safe haven in the United States.
I am sure most of the individuals who will take advantage of the provisions in this bill respect the U.S. Constitution and obey the laws of this Nation, but history has proven that criminal aliens, gang members, terrorists, and other public safety threats apply for immigration benefits all the time. If they didn't, we wouldn't have to have section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes such aliens inadmissible.
Even under DACA, under President Obama's program, criminals have applied. In fact, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, almost 8 percent of total DACA requesters, 59,786 individuals, had arrest records, which included such offenses as assault and battery, rape, murder, and drunk driving. And 199 individuals who requested DACA had 10 or more arrests.
H.R. 6 also provides green cards to gang members. Criminal gangs are a scourge on our communities, preying on vulnerable populations while committing a vast array of criminal acts.
H.R. 6 should not give gang members a foothold in the U.S. by fast- tracking them to a green card.
This MTR makes it easier for DHS to deny the applications of gang members by making it an eligibility requirement that an alien is not a gang member and by explicitly permitting DHS to take into account the information found in gang databases.
Hear me clearly: No matter what Democratic colleagues may say in the next few minutes, if Members don't vote for this MTR, they cannot look their constituents in the eye and honestly say that criminals will not get green cards.
If the Democrats want to prevent such dangerous individuals from getting green cards, they must vote for this MTR. To do otherwise is to prevent a commonsense change that will ensure the safety of law-abiding Americans, as well as those who are seeking to be part of the greatest nation on Earth, the United States of America.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source