Clarifying A Speech From March 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, on March 17, 2016, during the 114th Congress, I intended to say:

``Mr. Speaker, today there are a lot of legal arguments and talk. I want to make sure the American people listening at home and watching at home know exactly what we are talking about here today.

``I want to talk about somebody whose life is on pause, waiting for the DAPA program to clear the courts. The brief that the Republicans are seeking to file is the exact opposite. It is saying that DAPA cannot occur. And this gentleman and his family, several of whom are Colorado constituents of mine--just to put a human face on it--show what DAPA means for so many families across our country.

``Mr. Edin Ramos of Colorado--he is pictured there next to his three lovely kids and his wife--is a native of Honduras. He has been in the United States for over 13 years. His kids are American citizens, were born here, don't know any other country. He fled his home country to avoid persecution and extortion at the hands of local, corrupt officials and gangs.

``He is married to a U.S. citizen. They have three young children together. He is a very successful business owner in Colorado. He and his wife employ 12 people. They make investments in their local community. Many rely on them for jobs, for the services they provide. Yet, the lack of any peace of mind prevents families like Edin Ramos' from reaching their full potential.

``Every day his kids come home from school, and his wife worries over something as minor as a taillight being out or a speeding ticket, that Mr. Ramos could find himself in detention for an indefinite period of time, removed from his family, or even deported to another country which he doesn't have any ties to.

``I would also like to talk about the case of Ms. Mercedes Garcia. Mercedes is a long-time resident of my hometown, Boulder, Colorado. Her life has been greatly affected by the arbitrariness of an immigration system that is immoral and has lacked meaningful priorities.

``She has been in the United States for close to 20 years. She is the mother of three American children, U.S. citizen children. But you know what happened? Her husband was removed from the United States in 2011 over a traffic citation, forcing her to be the sole provider for her three children.

``Now, Mercedes is undocumented herself, and she fears contact by immigration authorities on a daily basis. DAPA was a ray of hope for her. What DAPA would do is provide Mercedes with a meaningful level of certainty, the ability to legally seek employment, the ability to provide her family with expanded opportunities here in the U.S., and would help make her American citizen children as successful as they are able to be.

``Her children are just as American as you or me, Mr. Speaker, as is anyone born in the United States. Don't they deserve to have their mother help them succeed with all the great promises that this country offers? Why can't we give that certainty to their mother?

``DAPA is a legal, commonsense, lawful exercise of discretion. It is consistent with the actions of Presidents, both Democratic and Republican, for decades. It directs, very simply, with the limited amount of enforcement resources we have in the Department of Homeland Security, that we want to focus on removing undocumented immigrants who pose a threat to public safety or national security--not Mr. Ramos, not Ms. Garcia. We want to remove those who represent a danger or a threat to our country.

``To somehow misfocus those limited resources on tearing apart families instead of going after criminals would put the American people at risk. The President has acted to make the American people safer by ensuring that our limited law enforcement resources are focused where they will have the biggest impact.

``These policies are very simple. They create a process for low- priority enforcement immigrants who come forward, submit to a background check, register, be able to get a provisional work permit, and work legally. It enhances our public safety and national security.

``Yet we hear people from the other side saying: Well, this is something Congress should have done. I agree. This is something Congress should have done. You know what? It is not my fault Congress didn't do it.

``I have talked about immigration every week and every month here on floor of the House. I cosponsored a comprehensive bill. I signed a discharge petition last Congress to try to bring it forward. Yes, I agree.

``You know what? Congress didn't do it, Mr. Speaker. And that is on the Republican majority that Congress failed to act.

``So the President moved forward with the legal authority he has and that Republican and Democratic Presidents in the past have used to say that Ms. Garcia is not the same risk to this country as a dangerous criminal.

``It is common sense, and it is about time that we move forward with and DACA.

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