Secure the Border Act of 2023

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, today, the majority has brought forward a cruel, extreme, and unworkable piece of legislation, which would wreck our economy, destroy the asylum system, criminalize visa overstays, send unaccompanied children back to dangerous situations, and jail children indefinitely.

Once again, my Republican colleagues show us that they are not interested in finding real solutions to tough issues. This bill attempts to combine a variety of different bills, each one more cruel and heartless than the last into one contradictory and overlapping mess. This bill has no chance of being enacted into law and it is nothing more than pure political theater.

My Republican colleagues are trying to take us back to the failed, illegal, and immoral policies of the Trump administration. Former President Trump's radical, inhumane, and racist immigration actions weakened the U.S. economy, undermined our moral standing in the world, and did not make us any safer.

While trampling on some of our most deeply held American values, his erratic approach also failed to stem the flow of migrants across our border. Let's be very clear about what this legislation would do. When taken together, this bill serves as a wholesale ban on asylum. No one would be able to seek asylum in the United States if they cross between ports of entry or if they had or could have had even temporary status in a third country.

Let me give you an example of what this means. If the Russian dissident Aleksey Navalny, who Putin attempted to poison twice, was somehow released from his prison in Siberia and took a flight to seek political asylum in the United States, but the plane touched down for refueling in Bulgaria, he would have to stay in Bulgaria. He couldn't come to the United States.

During the Judiciary Committee's markup, Democrats offered a variety of amendments to exempt the most vulnerable from some of these draconian requirements. This included those fleeing Communist and totalitarian regimes and unaccompanied children, but the majority was not even willing to exempt children under a year old.

The one place where we were able to make some bipartisan headway was on the issue of E-Verify. E-Verify is an electronic employment eligibility verification system that began as a voluntary pilot program and is currently used by a small percentage of the Nation's employers.

This bill would make that system mandatory for all employers in the United States. Without providing other reforms, however, including any meaningful opportunity for undocumented workers to regularize their status, this title would damage the U.S. economy, harm American workers, and result in billions of dollars in lost government revenue.

In particular, mandatory E-Verify would decimate the agriculture industry, putting U.S. farms out of business, shipping millions of American jobs overseas, and increasing U.S. reliance on imported food. Mandatory E-Verify would result in hundreds of thousands of unfilled farm jobs and would leave unpicked crops rotting in the fields as we saw in Georgia in 2011 when a mandatory E-Verify law in the State resulted in over 11,000 farm jobs going unfilled during the peak harvest season.

Unfortunately, it appears that some of my Republican colleagues with significant agricultural interest in their districts are now willing to support this draconian legislation. Despite sincere concerns about how this provision would affect their constituents, they have caved to Republican leadership with the mere addition of a sense of Congress. That is pathetic.

I have only scratched the surface of the many problems contained in this legislation. I have not even mentioned how this bill strips all protections from unaccompanied children and requires all families who come to our borders seeking protection to be detained indefinitely or the extreme lengths to which it goes to narrow the eligibility grounds for asylum or how this bill would severely restrict this and any future administration's ability to parole individuals into the United States, even going so far as to end the current parole initiatives for Ukrainians fleeing Russia and for certain military families.

What this means is that no Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia would be allowed into this country. It also means that all Ukrainians here after a certain time would have to return to Ukraine, even if the war is still going on.

Mr. Speaker, immigration reform is a complicated problem that requires complicated solutions, and an enforcement-only strategy simply doesn't work. Democrats have put forward real proposals, and we stand ready to work with serious Republicans to pass meaningful solutions.

Democrats take this humanitarian crisis seriously. Our proposals address the root causes of migration, improve border security, and create additional legal pathways for people to enter the United States lawfully.

But Republicans have chosen a narrow path that imposes extreme pain and hardship on the most vulnerable people, while doing nothing to actually solve the problem.

I encourage my colleagues to oppose this wrongheaded bill, and I ask the majority to go back to the drawing board.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Escobar).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Lofgren).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Garcia).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, it is important that we take a look at what we are doing here today. It is very obvious that we are addressing this question from the perspective of punishing families and punishing our children--yes, the children. The children are of all of us because we know that no matter what country, the children are our future.

This legislation is supposed to be a border security bill done without bipartisanship and extensively rejecting thoughtful amendments given by the members of the Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security.

In Houston, this is to create an added nightmare in order not to be able to help those who are in need because they are coming. In fact, there are processes where they are able to access the process of asylum.

The fear that is made and given to the American people is to create hysteria rather than reason. I don't know what happened to the very reasonable, comprehensive immigration reform led by the late John McCain. Republicans ditched it, leaving DACA recipients, people who are EMS, doctors, and lawyers, still in limbo.

Here we come again with this bill that is the child deportation bill. It says in Houston to Catholic Charities, or the National Association of Christian Churches that is helping in New York, that they will be made criminals because we will not allow them to help those who are coming forward who have status with paperwork for asylum, but yet, they are still unstatused and undocumented.

It makes it absolutely impossible to come to the border to seek asylum. It upends the process and protections in place for unaccompanied children and requires all migrants seeking admission without a visa either to be detained or subjected to a program that Trump had. We know if we have someone who is going to, in essence, pardon all the January 6 persons, that is not a reliable policy.

It is clear that mandating indefinite detention for all asylum- seeking families and children is a deportation bill for children. Allowing children to be detained in Border Patrol facilities for an entire month is a cruel and inhumane act.

Hold a 9-month-old baby in your arms who was separated from their family, and maybe then, as I did almost more than 6 years ago, almost 10 years ago--this has been ongoing through all administrations. The only reason that the past administration had a title 42 is because of the pandemic.

We need not to have that patchwork of disaster. We need to be able to ensure that we are working studiously to ensure it. Let me share with you these numbers.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, people are, in fact, alarmed. They need to know that the migrants coming in are from Mexico. We do have an OTM, other than Mexican, people already going back--India, China, the Philippines, El Salvador, Vietnam, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Korea. It is widely diverse, based upon the persecution that people are feeling or the economic lack of life.

As we proceeded to do this work, do you know, as I leave this podium, that if you are an overstay in a hospital, you can automatically be criminally charged? In an amendment, I said: What is the intent? Do you know whether they were in a hospital, or they had a funeral, that they were, in essence, near death? There is no mercy.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation needs to go back to the drawing board. Americans and Houstonians are asking for us to do the right thing and to get security at the border and not have a bill that does nothing. That is what it does--absolutely nothing.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today o reassert my opposition to the proposed legislation, H.R. 2--Secure the Border Act of 2023, and to again assert the need for strong reconsideration for the harm and damage this bill will do to the American people and those seeking citizenship into our country. I do believe America must have a secure border!

I, along with my colleagues, have attempted to address some of the most glaring challenges this bill poses by offering common sense amendments, yet Republicans have continued to refuse any meaningful consideration. Let's work together for a secure southern and northern border.

H.R. 2 is in no way a serious measure that is being offered to resolve our current and ongoing dire needs to resolve immigration challenges and demands here in America.

We need the American people to understand that this is merely an unfortunate patchwork of extreme anti-immigrant proposals that would only add to more chaos at the border.

It includes a variety of illogical measures that would shut down the U.S. asylum system and target families and children for the cruelest forms of treatment.

One measure would make overstaying a visa a crime--for the first time in our history.

During the Judiciary Committee markup and the Rules Committee hearing, my Democratic colleagues and I could not get any Republican to roll back their punitive and damaging intent to harm any and all individuals seeking refuge and citizenship here in the U.S.--no matter the vulnerability of their age or their circumstances.

One of my amendments in particular would have added a mens rea requirement such that in order to be criminally liable, a person must ``knowingly and willingly'' overstay their visa.

It is important to remember that an individual can make an honest mistake about when they need to depart the country, be physically incapable of departing the country, or unable to return because of circumstances beyond their control in their home country.

Yet this bill has no exceptions or flexibility when it comes to overstaying a nonimmigrant visa.

For example, a person who has a medical emergency in the United States and cannot leave within 10 days of their visa expiring would violate this new law and face up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.

Or if a natural disaster prevents an individual from returning home for more than 10 days past the expiration of their status, they would be guilty of this crime and face 6 months in federal prison.

It is also important to remember that if a person overstays their visa, they are already subject to removal.

The addition of a criminal penalty is both cruel and unnecessary.

This bill is extraordinarily punitive, with far-reaching implications that may go beyond what my colleagues intended, unless they wanted to make following current immigration a crime punishable by up to 6 months in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.

Our immigration system needs reforms, and we are absolutely interested in bold new ideas to fix it, but this is not one of them.

That is why I also offered another amendment that would have simply created a critical exemption for Temporary Protected Status holders who overstay their visas.

If this bill had been in place last year, a Ukrainian student would have broken the law and faced a fine and jail time if they had been approved for Temporary Protected Status after Russia invaded their home, and then stayed in the US in Temporary Protected Status for longer than the validity of their student visa.

Perhaps if the majority had held a hearing on this topic, as they are supposed to under the regular order they love so much, they would understand the substantial problems with this legislation; perhaps we could have explored more realistic changes to our legal visa system.

I also offered another commonsense amendment during the Judiciary Committee Markup to the provision of H.R. 2 restricting parole.

H.R. 2 seeks to drastically limit the use of parole power but contradicts itself about how parole can be granted.

The bill claims that it limits DHS from granting parole based on eligibility criteria describing an entire class of potential parole recipients.

Immediately following this prohibition, the bill outlines the eligibility criteria for two classes of people it deems worthy of receiving parole: the spouses and minor children of active duty servicemembers and certain Cuban family members of US permanent residents.

The provision allowing parole for Cubans is modeled after Cuban Family Reunification Parole, which was created in 2007 to allow Cuban nationals with pending immigrant visa petitions to join their sponsoring family members in the United States.

This program was suspended during the Trump administration in 2017, but processing resumed in September 2022.

I am thrilled that Republicans have deemed this program worthy of keeping in place.

Their previous anti-parole bills certainly didn't seem to think it was worth saving.

However, I'm confused. There is another parole program, the Haitian Family Reunification Parole, which was created in 2014 and modeled after the Cuban program.

This program carries nearly identical eligibility requirements, with more limitations.

The Trump administration announced that it would terminate this program in 2019, about a year and a half after calling Haiti a ``s--- hole country.''

Fortunately, the administration was unable to do terminate the program before leaving office and the Biden administration reversed this decision.

The ongoing situation in Haiti is dire.

Earlier this month, human rights groups released figures showing that kidnappings in the country had dramatically increased in the first three months of the year.

The risk of kidnapping for Haitians is just one small piece of a wider crisis with escalating gang violence, a food shortage, a constitutional and law enforcement crisis, and a Cholera outbreak.

I cannot think of any legitimate reason why we would keep the Cuban parole program, but not the Haitian program.

My amendment simply would have added a provision to the parole section of this bill exempting this population from restrictions.

It is time we stop the negativity and counterproductive efforts that are ripping apart our country, and to instead focus on coming together to work towards sensible and effective solutions that can work for the betterment and growth of our country.

H.R. 2 is simply just another incredibly misguided Republican bill that further includes nonsensical and harmful changes to the current system for unaccompanied children (UACs) crossing the border.

Under this bill, all unaccompanied children would be subject to a summary removal process, which would give them even fewer protections than current law provides for unaccompanied minors from contiguous countries like Mexico.

H.R. 2 would eliminate the right of many children to seek protection in immigration court from human trafficking and other dangers, leaving them with only cursory screenings by law enforcement personnel lacking child welfare expertise.

The incredulous bill would also bar existing efforts to provide government-paid counsel to unaccompanied children and subjects all unaccompanied children to an expedited screening and removal process, giving them just 14 days to prepare their case without a government- provided attorney.

Additionally, the bill prohibits anyone who entered the United States between ports of entry (unless they were interdicted at sea) from being able to seek asylum--notwithstanding the Majority's rejection of multiple amendments that would have exempted unaccompanied children from this restriction.

Whereas, Democrats have proposed a range of solutions to address the humanitarian crisis at the border and improve protections for unaccompanied children.

These proposals include increasing funding for HHS and DHS to ensure that unaccompanied children are properly cared for, and their sponsors are thoroughly vetted, expanding access to legal counsel for these children, and addressing the root causes of migration from Central America through diplomatic and development initiatives.

Democrats also support comprehensive immigration reform that would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and improve border security measures while respecting the rights and dignity of all individuals.

In March 2021, President Eiden signed a memorandum creating a task force to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump administration's ``zero tolerance'' policy.

The task force is composed of officials from several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Democrats have proposed legislation, such as the Dream Act and the American Dream and Promise Act, that would provide a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, also known as Dreamers.

In July 2021, the House passed a bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers and their families, called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

This would protect workers from exploitation and abuse and would provide stability for the agricultural industry.

Democrats have advocated for a comprehensive immigration reform package that would address the root causes of migration, improve border security, and create legal pathways for people to enter the U.S. lawfully.

In September 2021, the Biden administration announced plans to increase the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. annually, following a historic low under the previous l administration.

This move would provide opportunities for people who are fleeing violence and persecution to find safety and stability in the U.S.

Over the years, the Democrat party is making sure that these unaccompanied children stay safe and have a legal documentation in the United States, while the Republican party sadly has steadfastly opposed all the legislation that benefits these children.

I ask my colleagues to come together and move past the discord and to stand true to our ideals as Americans and protect our most vulnerable-- to protect all children who come to us in need.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, when I hear the rhetoric on the other side, it is one of the very few times I say to myself: Thank God for the existence of the United States Senate.

Jayapal).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Bonamici).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time I have remaining.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Chu).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Velazquez).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in strong opposition to the child deportation act.

This effort will rip apart families, dismantle due process, and expose children to abuse and trafficking.

This bill goes further than simply demolishing legal pathways that the President has put in place. It strips back critical safeguards that protect the safety and well-being of unaccompanied minors.

Instead of getting their day in court, this bill would imprison kids for up to 30 days. Instead of reunifying children with family who are here legally, this bill would deliver them to traffickers and other bad actors. Instead of providing care and counsel to children, this bill would weaken child welfare standards and reduce vetting of sponsors, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

This legislation makes a mockery of our Nation's values to appeal to our Nation's worst impulses.

Mr. Speaker, this effort to block access to asylum will fuel criminal traffickers that extort desperate migrants.

To make it all very simple, this bill will plunge our border into chaos, and that is exactly what my Republican colleagues want.

They demonize immigrants, lock up kids, and defund border security just so they can blame Democrats for the crisis that they manufactured.

Let me give you an example of the Homestead migrant children detention center that existed in Homestead, Florida, back in 2019, in the previous administration.

This was a facility that warehoused unaccompanied minors. The conditions were so challenging and the kids crammed so tightly together under conditions where they were forced to literally have very little space between one another and be imprisoned, essentially, in this detention center that, eventually, it was forced to shut down.

When President Biden took action to allow Venezuelan, Cuban, and Haitian migrants to apply for humanitarian parole, reducing border encounters from these countries by over 90 percent, Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop him.

My Republican colleagues trumpet the need for oversight, but when I introduced legislation to prohibit child detention centers from refusing access to Members to conduct that oversight, deafening silence.

They scold Democrats on enforcement yet promise to slash border funding to prepandemic levels, leaving border officers without vital resources to combat fentanyl and human trafficking.

The only thing this bill will actually secure is the choke-hold grip that MAGA extremists have on the Republican Party.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this legislation. It would brutally harm children for the sake of cheap political points.

Our border should be governed by laws upholding our humanity, not by demagogues promoting bigotry.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, organizations, associations, and industry leaders from across the political spectrum oppose passage of H.R. 2, the child deportation act. They include among them the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Kids in Need of Defense, Unidos, and National Education Association.

This bill is a microcosm of what we have seen in the first 4\1/2\ months of this new Republican majority, a chaotic majority that has no real interest in legislating or making positive change. Instead, they pass cruel and unworkable messaging bills that have no chance of becoming law and are dead in the U.S. Senate, and then they pat themselves on the back.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this draconian and unworkable bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source