Date: 2014-03-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

To my colleagues. I say good morning. Madam Speaker. it is good to be an American. and it is good to have the opportunity to celebrate the greatest democracy in the world. That is why I stand today and join my Democratic colleagues as they appear on the east steps in calling all colleagues to stand under the bright shining Sun to celebrate that democracy. for. today. Democrats will stand united. calling upon our Republican friends to push for a vote on comprehensive. reasonable. sensible immigration reform. I stand with these icons: Remember always that all of usthat you and I especiallyare descendants from immigrants and revolutionistsPresident Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources. because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and people President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life President John F. Kennedy. He never strayed away from his strong Irish heritage. Then. of course. in Womens History Month: I am a beneficiary of the American peoples generosity. and I hope we can have comprehensive immigration legislation that allows this country to continue to be enriched by those who were not born here former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. SHEILA JACKSON LEE. a descendant of Jamaican immigrants. My grandmother and grandfather came by way of the Panama Canal. Today. I can go to the Panama Canal and see my grandfathers name Xd there. for he worked with his hands to build the Panama Canal. Then the family traveled with small suitcases to South Carolina and. ultimately. made a life in this great Nation. What a privilege it is to serve in this body as a descendant. as someone who has recent immigrant grandparents who came to this Nation for opportunity. Finally. let me offer these thoughts through this quote: This issue has been around for too long. A comprehensive approach is long overdue. and I am confident that the President. myself. and others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all House Speaker John Boehner. Mr. Speaker. I ask you today to stand with those eloquent and important Americans. Presidents and Secretaries of State who have indicated that we are better for the immigrant opportunities that we have been given. Mr. BOEHNER. we want a vote now. As you look. you will see a picture of Leader PELOSI and of myself and of my colleague from Alabama . We are not important. but the children are who are here. who are diverse in their understanding of cultural diversity. Madam Speaker. these children speak Chinese and Spanish. They are 2 years old and 3 years old and 4 years old. They are in the Barbara Jordan International Child Care Center. We know we need child care. and they understand the richness of what happens with diversity. Let me share with you very briefly that there are 16.4 percent of Texans who are foreign born: 42 percent are Latino or Asian. 87 percent of children with immigrant parents are U.S. citizens. and 75 percent of those children are English fluent. These are individuals who want to contribute to America. Asianowned businesses in Texas create $40.2 billion in revenue. and Latinoowned create $61.9 billion in revenue from their businesses. Here are the results of deporting rather than putting forward comprehensive immigration reform legislation. not for people who want to do you harm but who want to do you good. I am glad that H.R. 1417 is in the bill that we want to vote on. That is the bipartisan Homeland Security bill that I helped write that came out in a bipartisan manner. but this is what America will do to herself without comprehensive immigration reform: We will lose. in wages. $33.2 billion if you deport every person who is nonstatus. In tax revenue. you will lose $14.5 billion. In jobs creation. you will lose $77.7 billion in the decrease of gross State product. This is from the State of Texas alone. So. in actuality. comprehensive immigration reform creates jobs. and it creates opportunities. But do you know what? It is the right thing to do. As a young child. I looked to the Statue of Liberty for such inspiration. I remember school trips of my going to the Statue of Liberty. and I am reminded of that extending arm that said it welcomes those who are worn and those who are forlorn. It welcomes them to the greatest democracy in the world. Give us a vote right now. We want to vote for comprehensive immigration reform. We want these children to grow up in a democracy that is befitting of this great Nation.