Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORREA. Madam Speaker, I strongly oppose this measure. Let me repeat: Reentry into this country is already a felony.

Bottom line, if you are a hardcore criminal, with or without documents, you should be fried, period. The one thing about this bill that is lacking is simply this: We don't talk about the big magnet. What is the big magnet for people coming into this country? Jobs.

People come to work. We need the workers. Wisconsin dairy farmers, up to 90 percent of those dairy workers at those Wisconsin dairies are undocumented. Undocumented workers are in manufacturing. They are farmworkers. They are in food processing. Who takes care of our seniors? Mainly, undocumented workers.

I ask my colleagues, is there anything in this bill going out to the employers? What about when those undocumented are deported and come back to the U.S.? Do you say to those employers: You are going to be doubled down, double felony, and you are going to go to prison for life?

That is the big issue here. Who is going to do those jobs?

I ask my colleagues on the other side, let's work on immigration reform. Let's get some visas going for these workers. Instead, the situation we have right now, we tell employers to go ahead and hire an undocumented because they don't have any others to hire. That is the only way they stay in business, but when they do that, they are essentially breaking the law.

Give them the other option. Mr. Employer, fire those undocumented, and guess what? They will go out of business. That is the scenario we have right now.

Let me conclude by telling a story about my district, as well. Mr. Barranco, 25 years in this country, not a traffic ticket to his name, was at the Home Depot doing what he is supposed to do: buy parts and do a job. He got picked up by ICE. His son called me.

This man has three sons, and all three are serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Alejandro just finished, honorable discharge. The two others are still in the Marine Corps in California.

What do you tell the American public when you tell them that the father of three marines who took an oath to defend this country, to make the ultimate sacrifice for this country, we are deporting their father because he is a criminal?

I asked Alejandro if, at Camp Pendleton, there are other marines in his situation. He said yes. There are plenty of marines there serving our Nation--

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Mr. CORREA. Madam Speaker, there are many marines right now whose parents are undocumented who are ready to lay down their lives for this country.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, let's work on immigration reform. This does nothing to strengthen our country or our national defense. It hurts our economy. Why are we going down this path?

Let's get serious about immigration reform. Let's pass some laws that enable workers to work legally and let employers hire these workers legally, as well.

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