Providing for Consideration of H.R. 37, Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. 185, Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015; And Providing for Consideration of H.R. 240, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. JUDY CHU of California. Mr. Speaker, the world is mourning. Millions have marched in Paris in memory of the victims and to stand against terrorism; yet, at a time when we should strengthen our response against terrorism, Republicans are playing games.

By hijacking this bill with measures that dismantle the President's executive action, Republicans are threatening to endanger the security of our entire Nation for the sole purpose of playing partisan politics.

Despite claims of support for reform, we are not being asked to vote for a better immigration system; we are being asked to vote for a crueler one--a system of mass deportation, one that tears parents away from children, disrupts communities, and weakens our economy, one that replaces the open hands of the Statue of Liberty with a sign that reads: You are not welcome here.

Worse, Republicans know that this will not become law, so today's debate serves only to placate an extreme wing of their party while making millions of hardworking and aspiring Americans afraid and unsettled.

Undocumented or not, immigrants are integrated into our communities, and pulling a thread once woven just weakens the fabric. I urge my colleagues to vote against this toxic bill.

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