Democrats' Plan to Put Mass Amnesty in Reconciliation Package

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, during my time this evening, my colleagues and I will be shedding light on the Democrats' illegal attempt to include mass amnesty in their multi-trillion-dollar spending package, their so-called Build Back Better bill.

Frankly, this entire bill is a disaster. It will permanently cause labor shortages, crush small businesses, raise taxes, lower wages, and expand the very worst parts of our government.

As one of the chairs of the House Border Security Caucus, a Texan, and simply as an American, I am stunned that in the middle of the worst border security crisis we have ever faced, Senate Democrats are using the reconciliation process to try and grant mass amnesty to millions and millions of illegal aliens.

We are up against more crises than any American has ever seen, too many to even keep track of anymore. But, folks, this is the worst one of all. Our open borders and the President's dereliction of duty to secure our southern border will unquestionably affect every single American in this country, every single State, for generations to come. Let that sink in.

My friends, this isn't a talking point. It is a fact. History has shown us that amnesty erodes the integrity of our immigration system, and it breeds contempt for the law on all sides. We are seeing this happening and unfolding before our eyes in living color.

If we look back to 1986, which was the last time mass amnesty was granted, we have a clear view of what will happen if Biden and the Democrats push this plan through. Millions of jobs will be put at risk. We will see massive waves of new illegal immigration. It is happening as we speak. Our enemies will use this avenue to enter the United States and embed themselves into our society.

Listen closely: Our society, our country, our neighbors, us--America is at stake.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McClintock.

That is so, so true. Arrests by Border Patrol are at the highest levels since 1986. Ask yourself, what happened in 1986, folks? Mass amnesty. This isn't coincidental. This is cause and effect.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my good friend from Pennsylvania and thank him so much.
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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, we are not against immigration. Most of us are the children of immigrants. My own daughter-in-law is a naturalized citizen. But we have to do it the right way, and that is exactly what we are here to do.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, House Democrats actually rejected the Republican efforts to block amnesty for illegal aliens who are gang members or have gun charges or are sex offenders, as Mr. Tiffany just said, or who have multiple DUI offenses. That is lunacy. All you can say is it is lunacy.

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).
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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his input.

I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern).

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Mr. BABIN. Well said. Thank you very much, Mr. Hern. I appreciated that.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller).

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Miller. We really appreciate that.

For those of you who don't know, one of the leaders of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was legalized through the 1986 amnesty by falsely claiming that he was a seasonal worker. After receiving amnesty, he traveled back and forth to Afghanistan and Pakistan to receive terrorist training. There is no reason to believe that terrorists would not once again take full advantage of amnesty to hurt us.

MR. BERGMAN: Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas for yielding and for leading tonight's Special Order.

How do you apply an adequate objective to the shocking, clueless attempt to jam amnesty for eight million illegal immigrants into this Democrat-owned, Democrat-grown, Democrat-processed multitrillion-dollar reconciliation bill? Again, it is a complete sham.

I think it is clear to most Americans why illegal immigration is illegal--it kind of sounds like I am repeating words here, but it is still illegal--and why any nation and our Nation needs borders.

People aren't trying to break out of the United States of America. Let's be clear why we are the greatest country in the world. Because we built it. Nobody else did.

The Democrats running our country today, however, are defying logic and the rule of law.

They are hosting an open border policy on the front end while simultaneously proposing a mass legalization policy on the back end.

The amnesty policy before us is the opposite of a solution.

We need real solutions, like when we had a wall being built and border security policies that worked.

I am here tonight because we need to stop this illegal activity on the southern border and make sure it is not rewarded by this shameful sham bill.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate what the gentleman said.

While the exact number of the millions of illegal aliens potentially eligible for amnesty is very fluid, data shows that historically each immigrant to the United States sponsors an average of 3.45 additional family members for green cards. So theoretically, if the estimated 13 million illegal aliens currently here in the United States were given lawful status and sponsored green cards for three or four family members, 43 million--let me repeat that, 43 million--new immigrants would be coming in. This is astounding data.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, (Mr. Grothman). So true.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, (Mrs. McClain). I really appreciate it.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman (Mr. Donalds). I appreciate that very much.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Fitzgerald. I appreciate that.

Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and fellow dentist for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that Democrats, led by President Joe Biden, are abusing the budget reconciliation process to pass an extremely partisan, socialist spending spree that will fundamentally change our Nation forever.

One of their many dangerous provisions is to provide amnesty to more than 8 million illegal immigrants. And for those that didn't quite hear me or didn't quite believe it, 8 million illegal immigrants. Even though the Senate Parliamentarian already ruled that to do so would violate the rules of the reconciliation process.

Additionally, the majority party outright rejected offers from Republicans to bar gang members, sex offenders, and other violent criminals from receiving amnesty. As I have stated before, literally you have to believe that many Democrats are actively trying to destroy our great Nation.

With record-breaking levels of migrant crossings, drug smuggling, and child trafficking, the majority is still somehow finding new ways to weaken and undermine our great America. Let me be clear to you. I love immigrants. America needs immigrants, and immigrants need America. But it must be done legally. We are a nation of laws, and those who enter America must go through our legal process.

True story, just the other day, I received a call from one of my constituents who emigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe. With her husband, she went through America's legal immigration process because she loves our country and she respects our country. She called me, literally crying in utter disbelief with our current immigration situation and also the current state of affairs in the United States of America.

She came to the United States, worked hard as a hotel employee, and eventually saved enough money by working double shifts to purchase her own business with her husband. That is the America that I know. That is the America that we all love; not this reckless concept of open borders with zero accountability.

For how long are Democrats going to pursue these radical ideas. Is this really what America is becoming? A place where people can uncontrollably flow through our borders and do whatever they want? Dammit, that is wrong.

Think about our communities. Think about our children. Think about our grandchildren, who are going to have to suffer the consequences of these radical Democratic policies. They have proven that not only do they not care about our institutions, but they do not care about our laws or protecting our great America. God help us.

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Van Drew. I appreciate it.

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Mr. BABIN. I thank my good friend from Arizona. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have left?

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends for bringing attention to this unbelievably important issue. Every one of us, as well as my colleagues who couldn't be here tonight, could talk about this crisis for days. Since our time is limited, I want to close with this.

Our very existence as a democratic republic, as a nation, hangs in the balance. The overwhelming majority of Americans reject the idea of mass amnesty. The border crisis, including the abuse, assault, drug trafficking, abduction, danger, murder, fraud, and death that comes along with it will only get worse.

We cannot afford to risk the lives of migrants or Americans by granting a mass amnesty. We will continue to fight against this for as long as we need to.

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