Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we recognize the contributions made by Americans who came to this country from all over the world to make a new home and pursue the American Dream. That’s why House Democrats continue to work for common sense, comprehensive, and balanced immigration reform: reform that secures our borders, respects the rule of law, and provides immigrants with a fair chance of achieving the American Dream. We believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should have a chance at building a future here in America. Comprehensive immigration reform would be good for the American economy and help our fiscal outlook. House Democrats have worked to establish a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and T.P.S. and D.E.D. status holders by twice-passing the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act, which Republicans continue to obstruct in the Senate. House Democrats also passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to reform the H-2A guestworker program to allow those contributing to our agricultural economy to remain in America. President Biden has taken action to restore the DACA program, end wasteful spending on an ineffective border wall, and reaffirm America’s values. Democrats will continue to partner with the Biden Administration to help Dreamers, fix American’s broken immigration system and ensure that it strengthens America and grows our economy.
I am very pleased to join so many of my colleagues, and so many veterans. We celebrated Veterans Day yesterday, and we said great things about veterans. Action is what these families want; families – to make sure they’re unified. This is a moral and an economic issue for our country.
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month together, let us take this time to reflect on the enormous contributions Latinos have made to our country.
FACT: Last night, Republican Senators blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act for the fourth time this year. From The Hill:
“Senate Republicans on Monday blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that Democrats are pushing as part of their message to women...”
Over a year after the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill with a strong bipartisan vote of 68-32, House Republicans have yet to take action to fix our nation’s broken immigration system.
I join in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins today. Since our nation’s earliest days, Latinos have played an important role in building strong democratic institutions, making our economy the strongest in the world, and fighting under our flag in defense of freedom.
Mr. Speaker, September should be a particularly important month for this House. It will be a month of contrast. It will be a month in which the American people will be able to see that the Republican message to the American people is ‘you're on your own,’ while Democrats say ‘we're on your side.’
Wanted to make sure you saw today’s article in the New York Times that discusses how the far-right wing of the GOP continues to control their party on immigration, even though the majority of Republicans and the American public disagrees with their hard-line stance:
Once again Israel accepted a ceasefire even while its citizens were under threat from Hamas rockets and tunnels of terror, but Hamas chose to violate it within hours by launching an attack and kidnapping an Israeli soldier.
Mr. Speaker, House Republicans have taken two bad bills – that fail to meet the challenge of the humanitarian crisis on the border – and made them worse.
As we sit here waiting to see text of House Republicans’ second, even more partisan border supplemental bill, we thought we’d put together a quick timeline (in gifs, of course) to highlight how ridiculous the past 48 hours have been, and keep everyone entertained on this Friday afternoon.
See below for the first few gifs, and click here for the full post: