Laken Riley Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is so shameful that the first bill of the new Congress will put a target on the backs of millions of our neighbors. These are neighbors who worked so hard and who build up our communities. It is also going to increase militarization of our neighborhoods.

As someone who grew up in southwest Detroit, where you will find 20 different ethnicities, people from all over the world, who came together, you should see how beautifully diverse it is. They built up communities and neighborhoods. They are an integral part of our neighborhoods.

One of the things that I have been seeing over and over again on social media already, Mr. Speaker, is literally militarization of Border Patrol, officials everywhere, just people scared and petrified because that is what is exactly happening because this promotes racial profiling.

The bill blatantly violates due process. These have literally been allegations and charges, not actual convictions. You all act like if somebody is undocumented they can't be deported. They can. As a former immigration attorney, I know that for a fact.

You are making this up so you can literally allow people to be profiled and discriminated against.

Blame them for the cost of eggs? Is that what we are doing here? We are blaming them because you guys can't put corporate greed to the side? That is a disease, and that is killing our economy. People can't afford housing. You think it is because of our immigrant neighbors?

No. If you truly care about fixing our immigration system, you would go fix it so that U.S. citizens married to undocumented spouses can actually adjust their status when we have mixed statuses because we have ignored and vilified immigrants for 30 years.

Enough is enough.

It will separate families. It would lead again to continued discrimination. It is shameful that my colleagues are giving in to racist fear-mongering at the first opportunity to pass legislation, to scapegoat our immigrant neighbors and fuel hate in our communities.

I know what is going to happen. It won't just be undocumented. It will be people like my mother who will get stopped and profiled. Does she have to carry her U.S. passport around? Are we asking people now to have documentation? That is what you want to turn our neighborhoods into, is militarization?

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Ms. TLAIB. I just ask all of you to truly understand what this will do to our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to please vote ``no'' on this divisive bill. It is so important to understand what you are going to turn our communities and our neighborhoods into. We can't allow that to continue to happen.

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