Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart Applauds Removal of Felony Language in Immigration Bill

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart Applauds Removal of Felony Language in Immigration Bill
April 12, 2006

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) today thanked Speaker Denny Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for their assurance that any final immigration bill would not include felony penalties for being in the United States illegally.

"I want to thank Speaker Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Frist for ensuring that the felony language will be stripped from any final immigration bill," Diaz-Balart said. "This provision, which most Republicans voted against and Democrats voted overwhelmingly for, was offensive, excessive and demonized hard-working immigrants."

In December, House Judiciary Chairman Sensenbrenner introduced an amendment to remove a section of the House immigration bill which would make illegal immigration a felony. The amendment failed by a vote of 164 to 257 with 156 Republicans voting to strip the felony language and 191 Democrats voting to criminalize illegal immigrants.

"In December, House Democrats overwhelmingly voted to criminalize undocumented workers and those who help them. And now, Harry Reid, the Democrat leader in the Senate, is using procedural maneuvers to kill the entire immigration deal. While Republicans want to push forward and craft a realistic and comprehensive immigration plan, Democrats would rather continue with our current broken system - one that surrenders our national security and does not effectively address human smuggling or trafficking."

http://www.house.gov/mariodiaz-balart/news/2006news/041206_felonyremoved.htm