MORNING-HOUR DEBATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of
January 6, 2026, the Chair will now recognize Members from lists
submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning-hour debate.
  The Chair will alternate recognition between the parties, with time
equally allocated between the parties and each Member other than the
majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to 5
minutes, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m.

                        OUR GENERATION'S LEGACY

  (Mr. McClintock of California was recognized to address the House for
5 minutes.)
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, on the eve of our Nation's 250th
birthday, Zohran Mamdani sat at George Washington's desk and painted a
dystopian picture of America: an oligarchy based on exploitation,
discrimination, nativism, and bondage.
  Stripping away the anti-American rhetoric, he seemed to make three
general points: First, that America is so racist and xenophobic that
many insist it ``belongs only to those with the right accent or the
right shade of skin.'' Yet, even as he spoke these words, foreign
soccer fans with every accent and skin shade flooded social media to
tell of their delight at the openness, hospitality, prosperity,
happiness, abundance, and big-heartedness of middle America.
  Indeed, America welcomes more foreign immigrants than any other
country in the world, but we insist that those who come to America do
so with a sincere desire to become loyal Americans, to adopt a common
language, a common culture, and a common appreciation of American
constitutional principles and traditions, and to raise their children
to revere and appreciate this country. It is called assimilation. It is
why we have immigration laws. That is the only way to build one great
Nation and one great people from all the nations and people of the
world.
  Illegal immigration destroys that process. Mamdani, like so many on
the left, obstruct our immigration laws and vilify those who enforce
them. Yet, if we don't enforce our immigration laws, then we have no
immigration laws. Without immigration laws, we have no border. Without
a border, we have no country. Is it possible Mamdani does not
understand this or is this his ultimate aim?
  His second point is that American exceptionalism derives not from the
principles of liberty proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence,
but, rather, that these principles can be exchanged for others, and Mr.
Mamdani has one in mind--socialism.
  However, freedom and socialism are two antithetical and incompatible
things. Our fundamental natural rights as human beings come to us
either from God or from government. If from God--the right to chart our
own course through life, develop our own talents, supply our own
industry, and enjoy the fruit of our own labors--they are a birthright
and are inalienable.
  If these rights come from government, then they can be extended or
withdrawn at the whim of those in power. Mr. Mamdani and his friends
will decide how much you may earn, where and how you can live, which
groups will receive the favors of government and which will be denied
them, who must live under the law and who can live above it, even the
temperature that you must set your thermostat.
  Wherever the socialists take control, we see this fundamental change,
and there is nothing exceptional about it. It is the consistent product
of socialist regimes: confiscatory taxes, chronic shortages of basic
necessities, rampant homelessness, rising crime, bitter racial strife,
failing schools, shuttered businesses, and ultimately, fleeing
families.
  His third point is that our founding principles create inequalities
so vast that in America ``children go to sleep hungry, while the
world's first trillionaire hungers for more.''
  Well, no one starves in America. Indeed, the poorest Americans today
are wealthier than the vast majority of mankind. Yes, in America
extraordinary individuals, including legal immigrants, can achieve
extraordinary success. The left loves to dehumanize them as oligarchs.
Their vast fortunes were made because consumers found value in their
products and freely bought them. They have provided mankind with
quantum leaps in technological progress that in turn produced the jobs
and goods and services that provide Americans with a prosperity and
standard of living unparalleled throughout the world. As John F.
Kennedy reminded us: ``A rising tide lifts all boats.''
  The true oligarchs are the socialists who use the power of government
to plunder the earnings of productive Americans in order to enrich
themselves and their acolytes. As Winston

Churchill warned: ``The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal
sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal
sharing of miseries.''
  Mr. Speaker, if America follows Mr. Mamdani, it will not be the first
civilization to succumb to the siren song of a benevolent, all-powerful
government, but every civilization that has done so has awakened one
morning to discover that the benevolence is gone and that the all-
powerful government remains.
  The American Founders feared that one day a generation might emerge
that has lost the memory of freedom. Let that not be the legacy of our
generation.

                        AN ICE OFFICER SHOT HIM

  (Mr. Vasquez of New Mexico was recognized to address the House for 5
minutes.)
  Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker,
  Lorenzo Salgado, como cualquier papa, debio haber llegado a su casa,
recibido por su esposa y sus hijos en la tarde del 7 de Julio.
  Debio haberse sentado en su patio, como lo hacia cada tarde,
escuchando su musica, y jugando con su perro.
   Pero Lorenzo no regreso ese dia. Fallecio a manos de ICE.
  Lorenzo tenia 52 anos. Paso 35 de esos anos construyendo casas en
Houston--casas que para muchas familias, fueron su sueno Americano.
  Lorenzo abrio su propio negocio. Y cuando alguien tocaba a su puerta
buscando trabajo, Lorenzo le daba trabajo. Su hijo lo describe como un
creador de empleos para mucha gente, trabajadores, igual que el.
  Tenia tres hijos: un maestro, un ingeniero, y un joven que estudia
ingenieria.
  El siete de julio, Lorenzo se levanto antes del amanecer--como cada
dia de su vida. A las siete de la manana, ya estaba trabajando:
manejando su van llevando a su equipo a un sitio de construccion.
  Lorenzo Salgado, like any father, should have arrived home, greeted
by his wife and children on the afternoon of July 7th.
  He should have sat in his backyard, as he did every afternoon,
listening to his music and playing with his dog.
  But Lorenzo didn't return that day. He died at the hands of ICE.
  Lorenzo was 52 years old. He spent 35 of those years building houses
in Houston--houses that, for many families, represented their American
dream.
  Lorenzo owned his own business. And when someone knocked on his door
looking for work, Lorenzo gave them a job. His son describes him as a
job creator for many people, workers, just like him.
  He had three children: a teacher, an engineer, and a young man
studying engineering.
  On July 7th, Lorenzo got up before dawn--as he did every day of his
life. By seven in the morning, he was already working: driving his van,
taking his crew to a construction site.
  And then, an ICE officer shot him. He wasn't even the man that they
were looking for. And 7 days later we have no body camera footage, no
dash camera footage, and zero accountability. We don't even know the
identity of the officers who were involved, but we do know that he was
a father of three who worked overtime to provide for his family. He was
killed on his way to work, and this administration expects us to take
their word that this was a justifiable killing.
  Desafortunadamente, no podemos hacer nada para curar el dolor la
familia de Lorenzo.
  Ni el dolor de la familia de Renee Good--madre, ciudadana
estadounidense, asesinada en su carro en Minneapolis.
  Ni por la familia de Alex Pretti--enfermero que cuidaba a nuestros
veteranos, ciudadano Americano, matado mientras defendia a una mujer en
la calle.
  Ni por la familia del joven que ICE mato ayer en Biddeford, Maine--un
joven cuyo nombre todavia ni siquiera conocemos. Pero alguien, en este
momento, lo esta esperando en casa. Y no va a llegar.
  Unfortunately, we can do nothing to heal the pain of Lorenzo's
family.
  Nor the pain of Renee Good's family--a mother, an American citizen,
killed in her car in Minneapolis.
  Nor for the family of Alex Pretti--a nurse who cared for our
veterans, an American citizen, killed while defending a woman in the
street.
  Nor for the family of the young man ICE killed yesterday in
Biddeford, Maine--a young man whose name we still don't even know. But
someone, right now, is waiting for him at home. And he's not coming.
  We were told that this was about dangerous, violent criminals, that
Trump's immigration enforcement was going to target the worst in this
Nation, but instead it has made everyone unsafe: Latinos, for the way
that we look, and any American who dares to stand in between them.
  ``Nobody,'' ``nadie'' is safe when armed agents answer to no one.
This administration says Lorenzo was shot because he looked like
someone they were searching for. Well, in America, there is no death
penalty for looking like someone else and driving to work, and yet here
we are.
  Yo vengo de la frontera y de una familia de inmigrantes, y conozco a
los Lorenzos de este pais--en Texas, en Nuevo Mexico, aqui en
Washington, y a traves del pais. Se levantan antes del amanecer. Pizcan
el chile en Hatch. Cuidan el ganado en nuestros campos. Construyen
casas en Las Cruces, Albuquerque y Houston.
  Y a esa comunidad, no le voy a decir solamente ``los veo.'' Las
palabras no detienen las balas. Les digo: vamos a pelear por ustedes.
En esta camara. En las cortes. Y marchando a su lado.
  Lorenzo Salgado debio haber llegado a casa a su familia.
  I come from the border and from a family of immigrants, and I know
the Lorenzos of this country--in Texas, in New Mexico, here in
Washington, and across the nation. They get up before dawn. They pick
chili peppers in Hatch. They tend cattle in our fields. They build
homes in Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Houston.
  And to that community, I'm not just going to say, ``I see you.''
Words don't stop bullets. I'm saying: We're going to fight for you. In
this chamber. In the courts. And marching alongside you.
  Lorenzo Salgado should have been home to his family.
  Lorenzo cried out, ``Me estan matando,'' ``They are killing me.'' The
``they'' were ICE agents. The ``they'' was paid by your tax dollars.
The ``they'' answers only to this administration. It does not answer to
the people.
  Later today, many in this Chamber will have the privilege of going
home to dinner with their loved ones. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo should
have had it, too.
  En su honor--y en honor de Renee, de Alex, y del joven que perdimos
ayer en Maine--no vamos a descansar hasa que cada familia en este pais
pueda esperar a los suyos en la mesa, sin miedo.
  Y hoy doy este discurso en Espanol e Ingles, sin miedo, para reforzar
que somos una nacion de inmigrantes, y vamos a seguir siendo una nacion
de inmigrantes.
  In his honor--and in honor of Renee, Alex, and the young man we lost
yesterday in Maine--we will not rest until every family in this country
can wait for their loved ones at the table, without fear.
  And today I give this speech in Spanish and English, without fear, to
reinforce that we are a nation of immigrants, and we will continue to
be a nation of immigrants.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will provide a translation of
his remarks.