Secure the Southwest Border Act of 2014
Floor Speech
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
The time is late, the cause is great. We must, we must have clarity in how we understand what is before us.
Today, we had an opportunity to work together to address humanitarian emergency at the border. Instead, it is a day of missed opportunity. The Republican leadership has rejected our hand of friendship to compromise on this supplemental. Instead of bringing legislation forward that could solve this problem really and truly, it has resisted the appeals of humanitarian and religious leaders across all faiths.
The Evangelical Immigration Table calls on us to ensure that our response strengthens our country's tradition of providing safety and refuge to the vulnerable.
This legislation that we have before us does not do that. It is wrong. But don't take my word for it. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urges Members to oppose H.R. 5230 and work together to craft legislation that is more befitting the United States of America and the American people's history of compassion and generosity to vulnerable children and refugees.
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, speaking on their behalf, has said of this legislation, the two pieces of legislation before us:
This is a sad day for our country. A Chamber of Congress is poised to send vulnerable children back to danger and possible death. It violates our commitment to human rights and due process of the law, and lessens us as a Nation.
In their letter, the bishops further state their opposition to H.R. 5232 and say that it ``stems from its elimination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program,'' otherwise known as DACA.
In conclusion, the bishops write:
How our Nation responds to this humanitarian challenge is a moral test of our national character. We ask that you oppose H.R. 5230 and H.R. 5272, which we feel fail to live up to that test.
Others, such as the American Bar Association, write:
Due to their age, lack of education, language, and cultural barriers, and the complexity of U.S. immigration law, these vulnerable children face insurmountable obstacles to proving their claims before an immigration judge on their own.
It is the children who are most likely to be eligible for some relief under the law who may be least able to articulate their experiences under this proposed procedure.
They have been through a lot of trauma, and we want to add to that. Yet, this has not been enough to stem the path that the House Republicans are going down. To further poison the pie they offer their caucus the chance to even be less compassionate in their vote to end DACA and to deport the DREAMers.
It is not enough for Republicans to send desperate children back to the violence of their home countries. They must also vote to deport the best young immigrants and brightest in our schools, vote to send victims of domestic violence back to their abusers, vote to hand witnesses back to drug lords, vote to remove the parents of American children.
These pieces of legislation dishonor America. They are a rejection of our values. But don't take it from me, take it from the bishops, the Evangelical Table, and others. They run counter to the respect for the spark of divinity that we believe exists in every person, the respect for the dignity and worth of every person that we share, but these pieces of legislation ignore.
[Time: 20:00]
House Republicans have truly lost their way. I certainly hope that you will consider rereading the parable of the Good Samaritan who helped a stranger. He did not ignore or harm a stranger he saw on the road. Perhaps that may be a path back for you. I pray that it is so.
Mr. Speaker, I will submit for the record letters from the bishops, the Evangelical Immigration Table, and the ABA who oppose these pieces of legislation.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
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