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SUBSCRIBE The leading Copyright |
[Congressional Record: October 2, 2003 (House)]
[Page H9203-H9208]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr02oc03-127]
IMMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION REFORM
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Miller of Michigan). Under the
Speaker's announced policy of January 7, 2003, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) is recognized for 60 minutes.
Mr. TANCREDO. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to discuss an issue that
often I bring to the attention of this body, and that is of course
immigration and immigration reform, an issue that I think we spend far
too little time discussing here.
I was compelled to come tonight to share an e-mail message I received
just a couple of days ago. It is from a lady by the name of Rhonda
Rose. And Ms. Rose speaks, I think, compellingly about a problem, a set
of problems, that she perceives in her area. And I think she is not
unique in this. I think she speaks for many Americans, in fact,
millions of Americans. So I thought I would start tonight by sharing
this particular e-mail message to me with my colleagues.
It says, ``My story: I live in a world where I do not count. I'm not
a minority. I'm poor. I don't have coalitions rallying for what I feel
is important. I don't have news reporters writing about 'poor me,' but
I have views. I vote, I pay taxes, and I know there are millions of
people in America just like me.
``I live next to a shelter built by politicians who are afraid to
have an opinion about closing the border. Daily, 1,500 illegals come
and visit that shelter. It was supposed to keep these `poor people'
from urinating and defecating on the streets. It didn't. My home and my
vehicles have been broken into 22 times in 5 years.
``I stopped calling the police each time now that this happens
because they do not come any more. Instead, we bought a gun. We scared
off the last person trying to steal our truck. The only English he knew
was enough to say `sorry' as we pointed at him. Three months later we
still have a towel over the smashed driver's-side window.
``Last week, I was ordered to pay an $85 fine for a false alarm.
Police showed up for that hearing. The police couldn't find any
criminal at my home when my home alarm sounded. I'm curious how long
police think bad guys `hang around' after an alarm has been triggered.
``I was involved in an accident in my car. The policeman said I would
have to wait while he called for backup. My baby was screaming. The
police had no film in the camera. The backup police had no
fingerprinting ink or film. The person who ran into me was here
illegally. He had a fake ID, but the police said there was nothing that
they could do about it; the illegal alien would just get another fake
ID and would never show up for court. He didn't have insurance. The
illegal alien who hit me said sorry as he was walking away. He was free
to go. I was free to pay the deductible on my car and the chiropractor
bills for my children and myself. If I drove without insurance and hurt
someone or their possessions, I would be forced to pay for the damages
or lose everything I had.
``My husband works 6 days a week as a framing contractor. He pays
FICA, Social Security, State taxes, Federal taxes, general liability
insurance, workman's comp. insurance, and probably others that I don't
remember. His workman's comp just skyrocketed from $5,000 per year to
$28,000 per year. Now, I ask you, where are we going to come up with
the extra $23,000? We had no claims. Should I take it out of my food
budget? We often go weeks without meat. Should it come from our
clothing budget? We buy our clothes at thrift sales and savers. How
about our entertainment account? Does seeing a movie every month
qualify?
``My home insurance costs me $100 more yearly because I live in a
border State. How long before Kansas becomes a border State? I have had
no medical insurance for years and years. I can't afford it. At 33, I
got cancer. My doctor told me to go to ACCHS. I don't remember how to
spell the State's medical system, since they declined me.
``My husband's company had no profit in 6 months due to theft and
lack of laws at the time to force general contractors to pay. Without
studying my receipts, I was declined. Interesting that hundreds of
illegal aliens in this country standing in line were being given food
stamps and medical care. They did not have Social Security numbers;
they did not speak English. If you don't believe me,'' she says, ``look
at the application DES.''
I am sorry, Madam Speaker, but I do not know what that stands for.
``Spend 5 minutes at DES and remind yourself why you pay taxes. You
won't be smiling.
``Taxes. Well, we fell behind one year. I contacted the IRS and told
them we wanted to make arrangements to pay. We now show the IRS
everything we buy, from the female items to chewing gum, they see the
receipt. For the next year we will be scrutinized. For the next 5 years
we will be audited. Maybe I should never have done the right thing and
told them.
``My son cries nightly because his legs and arms hurt. He has cried
for almost 7 years. My husband often walks on one leg because his back
and leg pain is almost unbearable. Monthly I have many strokes. During
those times I lose the ability to speak well, and I have had seizures
until I lose consciousness. We really don't know what is wrong with any
of us. We may never know. We can't afford a doctor. God forbid we need
emergency services. Thirty percent of the time hospitals are on divert
status because there is no room. Illegal aliens have taken their kids
to the ER for colds and sore throats. I would only go if I lost a limb
or if my heart gave out.
``Two years ago, I announced to my family there would be no turkey
for Thanksgiving. We would eat pasta and be thankful we were a family.
My Catholic friend made arrangements for me to get a food box from her
church. I went, reluctantly. I drove up in my broken old van and saw a
lot of full new, stickers attached, Suburbans. My
[[Page H9204]]
van was the worst vehicle there and it hit me that I really was poor.
``I stood in line for 20 minutes amazed at the number of illegals
taking box lunches and boxes of food. When it was my turn, I had to
show an ID. I was told to leave. There wasn't enough food for me to
take a box. I looked around. There were boxes of food everywhere. For a
minute I forgot that I was not in a minority and in their eyes not
deserving.
``At church, our pastor reminds us to stay hopeful. I struggle to
make sense of a system that has taken from me and given to those who
have more than I do. Who will be my voice? Where is my coalition? I
thought it was the leaders of America. I was wrong. They have sold me
out and millions like me. And what is worse, I do not know why. Rhonda
Rose.''
Now, Madam Speaker, I think that Ms. Rose's situation is dire, but I
think in many ways she says what many people feel. They feel, in a
sense, disenfranchised. They feel that they are losing their own
country. They feel that they cannot look to their own government for
support or for help.
Night after night I come on this floor and I bring to the attention
of the body stories of people who live on the border in Arizona, Texas,
and California. I talk about the fact that these people are in many
ways homeland heroes because their stories were not all that dissimilar
from Ms. Rose's. Their lives have been essentially destroyed. Their
businesses, homes, ranches have been overtaken by illegal aliens coming
through by the hundreds of thousands destroying property, vandalizing,
threatening, attacking; and they do not know why.
They are asking why this is happening now, when we have lived here
for generations. Our family has been on this property for generations.
We have always had people coming through here, sometimes illegally, or
many times illegally, but only a few of them. And we would give them
food and we would give them water and they would move on. But now it is
by the thousands that they are coming through. And these people turn to
the government for help and our government turns a blind eye to them.
And so they get frustrated, as you would, Madam Speaker, and as I
would.
So they write to their Congressman, and they talk to their neighbors,
and they see no change. And they wonder why they do it. They wonder
what is happening when they read polls that show that 70 percent of
Americans are essentially on their side. And, Madam Speaker, I have to
say to Rhonda that 70 percent of this country looks at this, listens to
your story and is empathetic and believes that some change should be
made, but maybe 25 percent of this Congress feels the same way. And I
do not know who in the administration feels this way. But not enough
people here feel this way, I will tell you.
And so we end up with a system that is unresponsive to the people;
and anger grows, and resentment grows, and frustration grows. Because
every day people see things like this. They pick up the paper and they
read that another State has just decided to give illegal aliens
driver's licenses. They see that foreign governments can distribute
cards to those people living here illegally. These are referred to as
the matricula consular card, and that States and cities are agreeing to
accept these cards for a variety of services. Illegals can open bank
accounts with these cards, they can obtain social services, they can
even get driver's licenses.
In California, the most recent State to allow illegal immigrants to
obtain driver's licenses, you can use a matricula consular to obtain
your driver's license. How do you get one of these? You get them from a
consulate here. Usually, the Mexican consulate. They are the ones that
hand out the most. And what do you have to give them? You have to give
them some documentation that says you are a Mexican citizen. Not that
you are here illegally; but, of course, everyone who needs one of these
cards is here illegally.
{time} 1945
Madam Speaker, I want to repeat that. Every single person here in the
United States who needs a matricula consular is here illegally because
if you are here legally, you have a document that we have given you.
You have a visa. You have a green card, you have a stamp on your
passport at least. So an illegal alien in this country can obtain this
particular card and with it can obtain all of the other documents they
need to become essentially citizens, really, in a way.
It is a stealth amnesty program. American citizens recognize that.
When they read it in the newspaper, they know something is wrong. They
know something is wrong when a body agrees to give illegal aliens in-
State tuition for which they have to pay. They know something is wrong
when they hear that their jails are being filled by people who are here
illegally and that the costs attributable to that particular phenomenon
are enormous. They know something is wrong. They know that when they
hear reports about people coming across the border by the hundreds, by
the thousands without our permission, we do not know who they are, we
do not know why they are coming, surely most of them are coming for
relatively benign reasons, to get a better job, seek a better life,
that is the reason that compels most people to come to this country,
the same reason my grandparents came and perhaps yours, but among them
are people who are coming to do very bad things to the United States
and we allow this to happen, and they ask me, Why? They ask me all the
time. I get all kinds of e-mails and letters and calls into my office
and they say, Why, Congressman? Why is this happening? Why is it my
Government has so little respect for my citizenship and for the fact I
try my best to do things the right way?
This is another letter I received from a lady by the name of Linda
Hendricks. She lives in my district. She says, Page 2 of this fax I am
sending you is a copy of a Medicaid eligibility form. I want to draw
your attention to question number 8. I turn to question number 8 on
this form. Is anyone in your household a legal alien, yes or no? Is
anyone in your household undocumented? Of course, what that means is
are they here illegally, yes or no.
Next question: If yes to either, we will need the following
information: If you are undocumented, no paperwork is necessary, and we
will not report you to the INS. If you are documented in any way,
please provide copies only of the front and back of your card and other
INS papers.
Now, this is a form distributed by the Federal Government for a
service that is supposed to be for American citizens: Medicaid. This is
supposed to be the program that we have constructed to provide medical
services to people who are financially unable to provide it for
themselves.
She goes on to say, ``Hello, something is really wrong here. Illegals
are not being reported and yet receive free medical benefits. There
have been many stories in the Denver Post lately about people with
serious medical needs that are losing their benefits due to cutbacks.
These people are U.S. citizens. As a citizen myself, I believe citizens
should have the benefit of medical care before those who do not belong
here. I have a revolutionary idea,'' she says, ``quit giving free
medical service to people who are here illegally and keep it for U.S.
citizens and those who are here legally.
``I recently heard about a man here to work from South Africa who
paid $3,000 for his green card, and yet when he got here, he found out
that Mexicans are paying $100 for a fake green card. And with those
fake green cards come all the benefits.
``No wonder our country no longer has any sovereignty, we are
willingly giving it away.''
Madam Speaker, I just cannot fathom, I cannot imagine how these
things are not taking a toll on the way people look at their
Government. Believe me, these are not unique in any way, these two
letters. These are representative of the thousands of letters that I
receive almost weekly, and calls and e-mails and that sort of thing. It
is happening everywhere. Looking at this makes me think there is a form
that you can go to the Web site and find out from the Bureau of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and it is called a temporary
visitor visa, and you can go onto the Web site and pull it up and fill
it out yourself if you want to come into the United States.
[[Page H9205]]
One question on that visa is are you a terrorist? Do you belong to
any terrorist organizations? Have you committed any terrorist acts, yes
or no. I do not know who answers yes, but evidently some people do
because the next thing underneath it is a little asterisk, and it says
do not worry, if you answer yes to this question, it does not mean that
you will be denied entrance into the United States.
How can that be true? Well, it happened because a Member of the other
body, Mr. Kennedy, decided that because he had acquaintances that were
members of the IRA, Irish Republican Army, and they might be on our
terrorist list and they might want to come into the United States, that
just being a member of a terrorist organization should not prevent you
from coming to the United States, and so that is why we added that.
Well, as they say, people know this, people see this, people
understand this, and people are frustrated by it. They are frustrated
by the fact that their own Government will look the other way when
people come into this country illegally, obtain this matricula
consular, open up a bank account, let us say, and when the Treasury
Department of the Federal Government promulgates rules saying that
banks should be allowed to accept the matricula consular for the
purpose of identification, and people look at this and think this is
odd, that when you look at the fact that these rules were promulgated
under the PATRIOT Act and designed to be rules to tighten up on banking
regulations, so that identity theft and money-laundering activities
would be minimized. When you realize that was the reason that those
regulations were promulgated, they are asking how can it be that you
are saying that you can do this? You can use this card given to you by
a foreign government for the purpose of opening a bank account? People
look at that and think what is going on with my Government.
They may know, I am not sure if many people know this, but they may
even have heard that in the Committee on the Judiciary, the
Subcommittee on Immigration in testimony there not too long ago, the
Justice Department, the FBI, testified that using the matricula
consular was absolutely a bad idea, and that people would, in fact,
take advantage of it, that we cannot begin to guarantee the validity of
the document. The FBI, Homeland Security, testified that we should not
accept the matricula consular, that no agency of the Federal Government
should accept it, and you have got the Department of the Treasury
promulgating rules telling banks it is okay to accept it. People can
get confused by that.
I believe it is simply a matter of pure politics, and the mother's
milk of politics, of course, campaign contributions from large
corporation through their executive officers who package up their
contributions, and through banks and other big contributors to both
parties, we find it difficult to do the things necessary to protect our
own country.
We also, of course, fear the political ramifications of doing
something to stop illegal immigration or even minimize illegal
immigration. We find that this is a politically embarrassing thing.
Even to bring this up on the floor of the House makes people
uncomfortable. They would prefer if we did not address this issue
because of the political implications.
When we recognize on one side of the aisle here, the Democratic party
sees massive immigration, both illegal and legal, as a source of
political support, future voters; on our side of the aisle, we see the
same thing as a source of cheap labor; the administration sees the same
thing as a potential source of voters for them, a wedge issue that they
can use in the next campaign, and Members can see why it is difficult
to actually get anything done.
That is what we have to tell people when constituents call and ask
how can it be that this country has essentially decided to abandon its
borders, surrender its sovereignty and attack the concept of
citizenship because that is truly what is happening to us. All of the
things that I have mentioned here, all of these things that are
happening in States and cities and here at the Federal level, cities
that are declaring themselves to be sanctuary cities, cities which pass
regulations telling the police department not to provide information to
the Bureau of Immigration Control and Enforcement or to accept
information from them, cities that say they will accept the matricula
consular for the provision of services, States that declare that they
will give illegal aliens driver's licenses, States that declare that
they will provide higher education benefits to people who are here
illegally, all of these things combined are an attack on the concept of
citizenship because if we have all of these benefits and are here
illegally, and if you get a driver's license, you have the keys to the
kingdom including the ability to vote under Motor Voter. So you have
all of the benefits, including the ability to vote, but you are not a
legal resident. What distinguishes you as an illegal resident of the
country? What is it, absolutely nothing.
Today Members of this body were confronted by people that came here
on a Freedom Ride. I understand buses and this trek started in States
all over the Nation. People gathered all over and descended upon the
Nation's capital to declare their concern for the plight of illegal
immigrants in this country, and they wanted to associate themselves
with the freedom marches of the 1960s, the precivil rights days of the
United States.
{time} 2000
They wanted to associate themselves with the plight of the African
American who had suffered, who certainly his heritage was a heritage of
slavery and who suffered degradations that certainly could never be
countenanced; and so they called themselves the Freedom Ride. Remember,
we are talking about slavery, an institution that brought people here
against their will, and even after they were freed institutionally by
law kept them from being able to achieve certain things and do certain
things that citizens of this country were allowed to do, voting, for
instance, and going to a restaurant and being served in the same place
with a white person and going to the same school as a white person. All
these things were being denied to these people who were here legally,
whose parents had been here and whose family had been here for
generations.
This was a travesty. This is a blight on America. This is a dark part
of our history. Yet the people who came here today suggest that they
have a common problem.
Today we have been visited, many offices in this body, in the House
of Representatives, many Members have been visited by people who were
here on what they call a Freedom Ride. They were here to put forward
their concerns with regard to what they call the plight of those people
who are here as immigrants, but what they really mean is here as
illegal immigrants. Because if you are here as an immigrant, a legal
immigrant into this country, you have all the protections available to
you that any other citizen has. But if you are here illegally, you are
oftentimes ill-treated and you are oftentimes taken advantage of by
unscrupulous employers. Undeniably true.
So their solution to this problem was to give everybody who is here
legal status, to simply give amnesty to all those people who have come
here, make them legal residents of the country and then, of course,
they have all the protection.
Yes, that is one way to handle it. But I suggest to you that it is
the worst way to handle it. And I suggest that the idea, the public
policy of giving anyone who has broken the law here a benefit for doing
so is bad public policy, that no one should be rewarded for violating
the law, and that no matter how compelling your story is about how long
you have been here taking advantage of this country and this country's
benefits, how long you have worked, that those are not reasons to
simply ignore the law.
If we do not like this law, then it is up to us in this body to
change it, to repeal it. If we do not believe in borders, then erase
them. If we do not believe that people should come into this country
with our permission, then stop trying to give it. But as long as that
is the law, then we cannot simply ignore the fact that it is the law
and give amnesty to everybody who ignores the law.
What sense does that make? The people of this country are asking the
question. What sense does that make? And
[[Page H9206]]
they are asking us, why is it that my family had to go through years of
applications, sometimes thousands and thousands of dollars in expenses
to make the trek to this country legally, to wait in a long line, to do
everything that is expected of us to come into this country as legal
citizens, while at the same time you are considering telling everybody
who came here illegally that they have all of the same benefits and all
will be forgiven? What message does that send to the millions of people
who are waiting to come into this country legally?
It tells them all they are suckers. That is what it says. And that
they should, in fact, simply jump to the head of the line, come across
the border, sneak into this country, get a visa, come in, overstay your
visa, which actually accounts for about 45 or 50 percent of all those
people living here illegally. They did not just come across the border
from Mexico or from Canada. They actually flew into this country or
came here somehow legally on a visa, then simply stayed.
All of those people, it says, did the right thing. They were the
smart people. They avoided all the hassle, all the expense and all the
respect for the law that we expect from the people who do come here
legally.
What sense does this make, they ask, Americans ask? Can you answer
this? Can anyone answer this? I cannot. It makes no sense.
Yet there are Members here who are going to produce a bill, who have
introduced a bill already, that is, quote, getting legs, as it says
around here, the saying goes, it is getting steam up, to give at least
500,000 agricultural workers amnesty under the guise of creating a
guest worker program. What they do create is essentially an indentured
servitude status for 4 or 5 years before they give them amnesty. This
is great. This is wonderful, according to the sponsors of the bill.
And Americans ask, why? What can you be thinking of? How can you
possibly be talking about giving amnesty to anybody who has come in?
How can you talk about giving jobs to people who are essentially taking
jobs from American workers?
Madam Speaker, all we hear of is, well, these are people who are
doing jobs Americans won't take. That is, of course, only part of the
statement. It is doing jobs Americans will not take for the price we
are willing to pay. That is true in many circumstances. But we are
also, of course, exporting jobs and bringing in foreign workers under
visa categories, H1B and L1.
People ask me why? How come it is that when American high-tech
workers are out of work by the millions, which they are, how come we
are still bringing in hundreds of thousands of people in the H1B
category to take those jobs? How come we are allowing other people,
other companies, to bring them in under the L1 category visa and
replace American workers with less expensive foreign workers? How come,
they say? How come when these people come here many of them are
actually trained by the person they are replacing? And in order to get
severance pay the person they are replacing is told, you must train
this person in your job or else we won't give you severance pay. How
come, they ask, is this happening?
Madam Speaker, I cannot explain it. I do not know. I have a guess. My
guess is that the high-tech industry contributes an awful lot of money
to both parties and to the President and, therefore, we choose a cheap
labor policy. That is my guess. Maybe I am wrong, and somebody could
certainly dispute it. I am hoping someone will. But in order to dispute
my claim, we have to at least have a debate on this issue. But we will
not have a debate, because debating this issue makes people
uncomfortable.
We are dividing this country up, Madam Speaker, into a lot of camps,
victimized groups, groups that continue to hyphenate their own
definition, groups that see themselves not as Americans, just as
Americans but some subgroups, some alienated groups, some group with a
cause, some group with a complaint. As I say, some group that feels
victimized.
We are encouraging that, that whole concept of balkanization of
America. We are encouraging that because we operate under what we call
a cult of multiculturalism. It is a philosophy that permeates American
society, permeates our schools, and it tells people that there is no
reason for them to actually become part of the American mainstream,
that there is nothing really good or worth emulating in American
society or western civilization, for that matter. And our schools drop
all references to western civilization, except in the most negative
way. They drop classes in it.
We tell people that come here from other countries that they should
not become part of the American mainstream, that they should keep their
own language, that they should keep their own political affiliations
with their country of origin and not integrate into the society. We do
all kinds of things that separate us, instead of helping to join us
together as Americans.
In this body, we allow groups to organize on the basis of race.
Amazing as that might sound to Americans, we allow caucuses to develop,
to actually be created here on the basis of race. Just yesterday when I
said that this was a bad idea and that I am going to introduce a rule
in the next session, if I am here, that prohibits any caucus from being
established here on the basis of race, I was vilified by many of my
colleagues for being both a racist and insensitive and a lot of other
things, because we have the Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus and
the Asian Pacific Caucus.
It is amazing to me that we can have a huge debate in this country
over a very famous talk show host, Mr. Limbaugh, who makes an
intemperate remark relating to the race of a football player and is
chastised roundly and resigns his job, resigns from his position. In
all of the media, everything I heard today is there is absolutely no
place for this kind of thing, no reason we should ever be using or
talking about race when we talk about these football players. There is
nothing that connects these two, and we should not ever discuss it.
I certainly agree. I see absolutely no connection myself. It was
probably a very stupid thing to do and to say.
But at the same day that that story breaks, I am roundly criticized
for saying that we should not have a caucus in this House based on race
and that all of the rhetoric that emanates out of this body about a
colorblind society and all of the admonitions and all of the laws that
we pass to ensure a colorblind society are essentially ignored because
we allow for people to organize here on the basis of race. Nobody says
a thing. I assure you they would say something if somebody tried to
organize a, quote, White Caucus or Caucasian Caucus, and I would
certainly be one of those people saying, absolutely not.
But what is the difference? What is the difference?
These are uncomfortable things, I understand that. People get very,
very uptight and sort of anxious when you bring them up. But the point
I tried to make here is that this is just another example of us
dividing ourselves up. And when massive immigration combines with this
philosophy of the sort of cult of multiculturalism that permeates our
society, it can only be bad for America. There is nothing positive I
can think of about this.
{time} 2015
We can extol the virtues of diversity. I am a full-blooded Italian
American. I love my heritage that is that part of me that one would say
is Italian, but if someone were to ask me what is my heritage? What is
my heritage? What is my country? I would immediately answer, and I
would have answered this when I was a little child, it is the United
States of America. That is what I thought of as my country, my history,
and my heritage. I have never connected politically nor have my parents
ever considered allowing me to connect politically and culturally and
philosophically with a country other than the United States. It was an
alien notion, or idea, and yet we are doing this to ourselves.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, will the distinguished
gentleman yield?
Mr. TANCREDO. I yield to the gentlewoman.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman very much and we
serve on the House Committee on the Judiciary together.
Mr. TANCREDO. I wish I did serve on the House Committee on the
Judiciary.
[[Page H9207]]
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. We have worked on issues together dealing
with these questions and the gentleman is right; I stand corrected. And
I think we note that we do have differences of opinion, but I would say
to the gentleman that I would much rather have the opportunity for us
to address these issues any way that I think draws most of Americans'
interest and concern.
The gentleman just made it very clear that his heritage is one of
immigrants, or his family came from a place to America for
opportunities. I happen to have a heritage of immigrant grandparents
who came here from the Caribbean. I would not be in the United States
Congress but for their coming to seek a greater opportunity. The
gentleman mentioned the mass numbers of individuals here today who came
up with the Immigration Freedom Riders. But I what I would suggest to
the gentleman is that rather than the broad brush, he noted that there
are people who are here in this country who may be undocumented, which
seem to be the crux of the crime, who really are attempting to seek
legalization. They really want to become documented, and the numbers,
unfortunately, suggest that they have been here for over a period of
time.
There is a distinction, I think, between securing our borders. I am
on the Select Committee on Homeland Security. I will be leaving with
the Select Committee on Homeland Security to go to the northern border.
I live on the southern border in Texas. And I think we should
distinguish those issues that Americans can draw around with the
heartfelt desire of undocumented individuals who have been trying to
secure legalization, and I would ask the distinguished gentleman that
when he comes to the floor if he would consider the fact that there is
a degree of compassion. I will probably never get him to agree with me
that those undocumented should have at least the ability to access
legalization, because I think it is going to be very difficult,
realistically, to get these people out of restaurants and hotels and
homes and construction sites; and I will say to him because I happen to
be, I think it is very clear, coming from a minority group of this
Nation but proudly here standing as an American, and there are issues
with American workers and there are issues with minorities that are
here.
There are a lot of issues that we could be divisive about, but we
should not be divisive about the hopes and dreams of the thousands of
people that I run into every day when I see that, over a period of
time, these immigrants workers who came here on the Freedom Ride, the
tears in their eyes. I do not think the gentleman is divided on that. I
really do not think so. Even if he will come back at me, when I yield
back, even to say, no, I disagree, I do not think we are divided on
that. I think if a group of them sat down with him, he might find
common ground because I do not believe any truck, any plane, any bus is
going to haul out 8 million. And I leave the gentleman on this, before
I yield back: I would feel much safer if these undocumented
individuals, and I do not see how we are going to get them out, would
be legalized, paying taxes, putting into the Social Security, and being
documented so that this Nation knew where everybody who meant to do
good was so that we can find the guys and ladies that were here to do
us harm.
I think that is the distinction I would like to make and hope that
maybe we will have an opportunity, whether it is one on one, whether it
is as we proceed with hearings and debate on the floor of the House, to
really talk about the concerns that I think the American people want us
to address with a real immigration policy that addresses the concerns
of all of us. And I thank the gentleman for his kindness in his
yielding.
Mr. TANCREDO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for coming and
expressing those views. I must say that I respect the gentlewoman's
opinion immensely; and as a matter of fact, they did come to my office
today, and I enjoyed it tremendously. The discussion we had with the
people who came to my office, there were five, and we talked about this
very issue. And I kept saying to them the one thing I wish they would
just help me understand, and I say this to the gentlewoman, how do I
explain it? How do I explain our willingness to do this, to provide
amnesty for people who are here illegally even though they have? As the
gentlewoman says, and I think absolutely accurately, that for the most
part 90 percent of them are here doing honest labor and doing it under
difficult conditions and have done it for a long time, all that is
true.
But there are millions of people seeking that exact same opportunity,
and they are all doing it the right way. They are waiting out there.
All over the world they are waiting to come here for that same exact
opportunity, and they are filling out the information, and they are
sending in their visa requests, and they are paying fees to lawyers.
And they are doing all kinds of things like that. And millions have
come that way and think to themselves this is not fair. This is not
fair that I had to go through this or that I am being put through this,
but yet the people who have come here illegally have gotten this
opportunity. I understand the gentlewoman's concern for these people
and for those who are seeking this legalized route, but every time we
do this, and we have done this, this is not unique, in 1996 we provided
amnesty. What did it solve? It only created a system that increased the
flow of illegal aliens into this country.
If we will secure this border, and I believe we can do that, the
gentlewoman and I may argue about whether or not this is feasible. I
believe it is. I believe the technology is there. I have seen it on the
northern border, by the way, where I go to. I have seen it in
operation. We can use technology including unmanned aerial vehicles and
radar and a variety of other technologies to help secure the border. If
we can secure the border and create a guest worker program that then
allows people to come into this country in a legal process that
protects their rights so they are not getting in the back of trailers
and getting suffocated, so that they are not coming across that border
and dying in the deserts, so that they can do it in a legal manner, I
am absolutely totally supportive of it. But I cannot possibly support
it along with amnesty. There is no reason that we have to add amnesty
to any sort of guest worker program.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. TANCREDO. I yield to the gentlewoman.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Might I give him a response? I think the
response is because the American people, one, are compassionate; but
they are practical. And I think this is part of the answer. The other
part of the answer is why do we want to do it? Because a young
Guatemalan came to this country illegally, and he lost his life
fighting for us in Iraq.
I think if we tell the story of immigrants, and I do not like the
word amnesty. It was not part of my understanding of immigration law. I
do not like that word because I think one thing about Americans, they
believe in hard work and they believe that if they are here working
hard and if they are here not involved in criminal activity, they can
understand that maybe there should be a reward. So I do not like
``amnesty.'' I have never bought into ``amnesty.'' I like this concept
called earned access to legalization, and I do not even suggest, Madam
Speaker, that it would be, if you will, a question where it is a gift.
And you added guest worker. That is a separate thing because the
practical part of it is, as I think most Americans know, I do not know
how we get 8 million people out of the country. And I do not know how
we criminalize 8 million people. So what I am saying is have they been
here 3 years? Have they not been involved in any criminal activity? Can
they document that? Have they been paying taxes, sales taxes, et
cetera? Have they had these three things? Can they then apply?
The gentleman makes a point there is a list. One of the things we all
agree with is that we have suffered under the burden of an agency that
has not worked. Even the gentleman probably has a long list of
immigration issues, business people who say I have sent in all the
papers, and I cannot get my employee over here to work with a green
card. But what I am saying is I think Americans are practical and I do
think they are compassionate, and I think they understand some of the
things
[[Page H9208]]
that the gentleman is saying. Obviously, we vigorously disagree. But I
am looking for places where we can agree. I do not like the word
``amnesty.'' I do not use the word ``amnesty.'' I like earning it. And
I like the fact that there is a deciding body now in power with a whole
bunch of new rules. I am talking about the new bureau on immigration.
So they can actually say no to these people who will come in and they
say, You get it; you do not. I am sure we will get complaints on that,
but it makes a difference.
Mr. TANCREDO. Madam Speaker, would the gentlewoman agree with me that
before any kind of guest worker program is put in place, it is
imperative that we secure the border? Because if we do not secure the
border, having a guest worker program legalizing 8 to 10 million people
who are here, and creating this guest worker process is essentially
meaningless. Because no matter what we do, we will say here are the
rules under which they can come into the country under the new program
and they have to do X, Y, and Z, and the employer has to follow these.
Of course, the minute we constrain it that way, we are saying if they,
however, avoid the law, if they can come in illegally, they will ignore
it. The employer will ignore it. People coming in will ignore it
because there is an easier way to do it, unless we secure the border.
So if the gentlewoman is looking for a place to agree, then I would
ask her if she would agree with me that we have to, number one, secure
the border, whatever that takes, and we could argue about how that is
to occur, but come to a position where we are not looking at this
800,000 people a year coming in. We all know where it is happening. We
see it. We reap the whirlwind with it. If we can agree with that, then
I will be happy to discuss the possibility about what comes next in
terms of a guest worker program.
I yield to the gentlewoman.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, let me say to the
distinguished gentleman, a guest worker program, those of us who work
from the legislative perspective, and as the gentleman well knows, I
serve as the ranking member on the Immigration, Border Security, and
Claims Subcommittee. The guest worker program we sort of tie to the
temporary worker program, and I agree with the gentleman. An earned
access would be individuals who work in many other places and would
then ultimately seek to have legal permanent status. But I think we are
both moving in the same direction, and here is what I would say to his
question. I am from Texas; so we have generally had very cordial
relationships or relations with our closest neighbor, and that is
Mexico. But I think we can take it to the next step when we talk about
securing the border. I, frankly, believe Mexico wants the border
secured. We want the border secured. But the reason these people come
is because of utter poverty.
This is a time, my distinguished friend, if we can work with Mexico
to begin to work on that economic base that then draws people home, the
woman from California (Ms. Solis), and I will be joining her, I
believe, will be going to look at the worst poverty that one can
imagine. So I would say to the gentleman, I think securing the border
in a way that is responsible respects the fact that Mexico is an ally
just for the fact that everybody has a sovereign right to do so; but as
we do it, let us do it by fixing some of the problems that are broken
in terms of the economy over there, in terms of these 8 million that
are here, in terms of creating at least a pathway.
Guest worker is one pathway; earned access is another. But I do not
think we can quarrel about securing the border, and I would hope that
my good friends in the immigrant advocacy area know that that is not a
situation where it is condemning immigration. It is suggesting that we
all have to work toward balancing the security of our respective
nations. But I think if we worked on the economy that draws people out
of the deepness of Mexico just to be able to live, we could understand
their plight and other places in South America.
And I would just close on this and yield back to the gentleman. And I
simply say if we had an equitable immigration policy, if we did for the
Haitians what we do for Cubans, if we did for the Africans what we do
for others, if we say that immigration includes the Irish or the
English and then we got a policy that worked, we might even find
ourselves somewhere near thinking that we have a solution.
{time} 2030
But I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. The gentleman knows my
passion. The gentleman knows my sense of balance and my absolute
commitment to the idea that those who come now deserve our respect and
admiration because they have come to contribute, they have come to
serve in our military, and they have come to get our support.
Mr. TANCREDO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman. I absolutely
respect every single person. I understand entirely why these people
come. I would be doing exactly the same thing. My grandparents did
exactly the same thing. It is not the individual that I complain about,
it is our own government's policy, and I ask us to look seriously at
changing it for all Americans.
____________________
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