Congressional Black Caucus' Hour of Power
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries) and the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford) for their leadership in anchoring this year's CBC Special Order hour and thank them in particular for this evening here in review.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a long road. From fighting to keep SNAP funding to rehashing the Affordable Care Act to advocating for immigration reform that is truly diverse and comprehensive, the CBC has come a long way.
As one of the cochairs of the CBC immigration task force, I am proud of the work we have done to ensure that everyone, including immigrants of the African diaspora and African Americans, were adequately included and represented in this conversation.
It feels like it was just yesterday when we stood here in February introducing the CBC's perspective on the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform. That night, we laid the foundation of what was to be an uphill battle between politics, policy, and procedure. The CBC, along with our Tri-Caucus colleagues, argued that the burden of the broken immigration system does not encumber one group of immigrants alone. For example, there are approximately 3 million immigrants from the African diaspora in the United States, the vast majority of whom entered the country with legal documentation, but there are millions more from all over the world, including eastern Europe and South Asia.
As the conversation increased, the CBC immigration task force tried to highlight the impact of immigrants of the African diaspora from the continent of Africa, the Caribbean region, and South and Central America, which has been large in scale. Their contribution has not been mentioned in the Main Street stories representing reform. Many did not recognize nor understand that the road for many immigrants of the diaspora was significantly different than the proverbial stories in the media.
Many entered our Nation with legal student visas, like my own parents did, to pursue careers in medicine, science, education, and other professions. Many are proud business owners of law firms, restaurants, grocery stores, shipping companies, and hair-braiding venues. There are those who have come as asylum seekers fleeing the tumult of war, famine, and genocide. Like any other immigrant group, they come to the United States to be productive, tax-paying members of our civil society, to attain the American Dream.
Like the other immigrant groups, immigrants of the African diaspora are dealing with backlogged immigration processing, families being ripped apart, falling out of status because they have aged out of the legal immigration process; racial and status discrimination; unfair criminal aggravated felony laws that prohibit judicial review; deportation processes that violate civil and human rights; an insecure, prohibitive student visa program; and limited access to work permits and much more.
Mr. Speaker, it is imperative for us to acknowledge the fact that many immigrants arrive on our shores during a time of their lives when they are in the most productive years of their lives. Any delay in processing these individuals, bringing them to the fore, would deny us as a Nation the opportunity to access their talent, their skill, and abilities in the prime of their lives.
Additionally, it was important for us to note that African Americans, those descendents of the transatlantic slave trade, whom I fondly call ``longtime stakeholders'' of this Nation, have been affected by our broken immigration system as well.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. CLARKE. Let me thank the gentleman from New York for saving me. I have recovered now and would just like to bring forth a few more points.
Working class Americans of all backgrounds, races, and ethnicities are adversely affected with a broken immigration system. As we stated, they are dealing with depressed wages because of unscrupulous and illegal corporate hiring practices. Urban communities aren't even being adequately counted via the census and other surveys, resulting in the reduction of adequate government services and Federal resources to meet the needs of actual populations in our communities, increasing the strain on current public services.
Urban communities are exposed to more crime as the undocumented are more reluctant to report crimes, and African Americans are dealing with increased racial and status discrimination as many are subjected to interrogation based on citizenship.
Imagine our delight, Mr. Speaker, when the immigration reform debate gained some traction this year with the actions taking place in the Senate. There were tangible legislative fixes in the works.
The CBC quickly expressed our concerns to both the House and the Senate leadership over the elimination of the Diversity Visas, used largely by African and Eastern European immigrants.
We voiced our concern over the ability of American children, particularly those from underrepresented and underserved areas to be successful in STEM fields without the proper education, especially since much of the emphasis in the debate relied on increasing incentives of migrants in those fields.
We also expressed the need to address our immigration judicial system. The current state is not aligned with our criminal justice system, leaving many immigrants forced to experience double jeopardy for nonviolent crimes.
We stood up against racial profiling language that does not include religion or national origin and expressed concerns over the switch from family-based immigration to an economic-based system.
Now, as the House looks to different vehicles to consider comprehensive immigration reform, I implore the House leadership to understand the importance of diversity; that is, racial, ethnic, religious, national, and especially economic diversity, the visa equity that must be afforded immigrants from around the globe.
If we eliminate country caps without including other avenues for smaller countries, we are jeopardizing the beautiful mosaic that makes this country unique and great.
We must evaluate consideration of the SAFE Act, which is a bad idea and a slap in the face to our immigrant history.
Additionally, we have to have an honest conversation about the relationship between legalization and border security. Allowing those who are here a pathway to citizenship but creating an obstacle course based in fear to obtain the citizenship is not the way to go.
We will never realize the true potential of this country if anyone in our society is held back from realizing their individual dreams. And relying heavily on an economic-based immigration system will exclude many immigrants, creating yet another stratified immigration system, forcing people back into the shadows.
That is why, as we look at the next session of the 113th Congress, I ask my colleagues to take the opportunity to revisit these proposals, sans political pressure, sans the haste to get it done, and take a real look at how we can improve the lives of all Americans and all those who strive with the hope to be an American.
Mr. Speaker, we must get this right. Our national security is at stake. Our moral standing in the world depends upon it. The American people, many of whom are first- and second-generation immigrants, have demanded it.
If we turn our backs on those law-abiding contributors to our civil society that come to our shores only to embrace the American Dream, to labor in the rebuilding of our great Nation, strengthen our economy, and to serve honorably in our military, we turn our back on ourselves and our future.
I can definitely say that the CBC Immigration Taskforce looks forward to continuing this conversation into the new year, ensuring that any comprehensive immigration reform measures mirror the diversity of this Nation.
So I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from New York, whose district is right next to mine in Brooklyn, for yielding time to me today.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source