Date: 2010-04-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. over this weekend. the Governor of Arizona raised up the idea of prayer. and in her remarks. she indicated that she prayed for strength and that she prayed for our State. I rise today to pray for Arizona. for this Nation. and for those who would think a law that was signed by the Arizona Governor raises any level of constitutionality. Yet I agree with the Governor of Arizona. They have been waiting very long. and there is a crisis that is necessary to address. Madam Speaker. many of us on this side of the aisle have tried over and over again. Former President George Bush. in the last administration. tried. but thats where reasonable minds will disagree. So Id ask the Governor to ask her own party: Why do they fail to stand up and be counted on a fair. comprehensive immigration reform proposal that. in years past. included border security as well as the opportunity for access to legalization? So the actions this past week are a travesty. hypocritical. and not sincere because youd ask the question: What is a legal contact? What are the law enforcement authorities of the State of Arizona to do in the midst of the work that they have in protecting the community from the array of criminal acts by anyone regardless of their background? There are burglaries. thefts. and rapes. robberies and actions that require the intervention of State and local law enforcement. What is a legal contact? Is it a person who is rushing his pregnant wife to the hospital and who is stopping to ask a police officer. Will you lead me through the lights to the hospital? Is that a legal contact? What is a determination of reasonable probability? Is it brown skin? Is it someone who is dressed in yard clothes? What is the determination of reasonableness? There is no answer to that other than it is patently unconstitutional. Yes. I want comprehensive immigration reform. which is a term that many have demonizedyou have to run away from it nowbut we in Texas have lived with this for a very long time. the men and women of all economic levelsthe business community. the nonprofit community. the faith community. The HoustonGalveston Diocese. our cardinal. the cardinal in the Houston area. has raised his voice. along with many faith leaders. to say that now is the time for real comprehensive immigration reform. I am ashamed of the law that was written and signed. because it bears no fruit. Of course. there are law enforcement officers in the region. and certainly. Im not from the area whose only voice is to claim airtime and to shout ridiculous comments: I can lock them up. Anybody. I can lock up. This is not to say that there is not empathy and sympathy for the borders in Arizona. There is a need now for comprehensive immigration reform for Arizona. for New Mexico. for California. for Texasfor all of America. Though. I will tell you. Madam Speaker. if a young person comes to me in my district who came here from a foreign countryin this instance. Francewho has been in our school system. who did not know the process and who is now unstatus but who has never been in trouble and who is going through schoolhe is an immigrant. but unfortunately. statusthen he is no less than the immigrants from Ireland. than the immigrants from Italy and the immigrants from places elsewhere who came to this country and who helped to build it and to make it a better place. Maybe he is no better than the immigrants who came in shackles. like myself. and their ancestors. who came in the bottom of the belly of a slave boat. but we found a way to regularize them. This Congress must find a way to regularize this process and all of the families who are huddled in fear. who have never perpetrated a crime. I want to thank the leadership of this House and the leadership of the Senate. both of which are courageous enough to take the battering and the abuse of those who misuse the Constitution and who believe they are doing something. They are not. Should they be responded to? Madam Speaker. they should. My answer is that we pass right now comprehensive immigration reform to save America. to save our dignity. to save the Constitution. and to stand for the values we believe in.