Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA. I'd like to thank the gentleman from California.

Madam Speaker, it's been 20 days since the Senate passed overwhelmingly a bipartisan immigration reform bill.

In the House Judiciary Committee, we've considered four controversial bills, none of which address the 11 million people that are already here.

In south Florida, for example, there are thousands of Venezuelan families stuck in an immigration system with some combination of legal or undocumented status. They came to this country fleeing Chavismo and have since purchased homes, started businesses, and invested millions in our community.

Earlier this year, I introduced a bill, the Venezuelan Liberty Act, which would allow any Venezuelan who had been in the United States since Chavez was elected to adjust to permanent-resident status. This is similar to what Congress passed in 1997 with the Nicaraguan Adjustment Act and the Central American Relief Act.

However, because we have yet to consider any sort of legalization path, the House Judiciary Committee has not yet had the opportunity to consider this bill as an amendment or to debate on how best to bring people out of the shadows.

And Venezuelans aren't alone. The Haitians, the Africans, the Central Americans on TPS, the young people who are covered under DACA continue to live their lives in immigration limbo while the House has yet to act.

Immigration reform isn't about politics. It's about our Nation's values. It's about our economy. It's about our future.

The recent White House report and last month's CBO report confirmed what my constituents in south Florida already know: our Nation's livelihood depends on fixing our broken immigration system.

The Center for American Progress projected that immigration reform would generate over 8,000 additional jobs per year in Florida and that current Florida citizens would see an increase in wages of $6.3 billion over the next 10 years.

We may not agree on everything, but we cannot afford to wait any longer. Passing immigration reform will spur innovation, lower our deficit, and raise wages for all workers.

As if the voices of many DREAMers who have recently descended on Washington aren't enough, business leaders, law enforcement officials, farmers, clergy throughout the U.S. have urged Congress to take action.

It's time to move this Nation forward. I urge the House leadership to bring immigration reform to the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source