Providing for Consideration of H.R. Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am relatively new to this body, but I have been following politics in this country for quite some time. For many years, I have been hearing Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, but more so on this side, promising the country that we would secure the border, that we would disrupt the drug traffickers who are poisoning our people, and that we would disrupt the human traffickers who abuse and rape small children and others as they take them across the desert.

This is the opportunity to fulfill the promise of securing our country's border, because this country, just like any other country in the world, has the right and the responsibility to secure its border and enforce its immigration laws.

For a long time, I have also been hearing people talk about Dreamers, the victims of a broken immigration system, young immigrants brought to our country as children, who grew up here, went to school with our own children, pledge allegiance to the same flag, and today are contributing to this great country. A lot of people in this Chamber, on both sides, more so on the other side of the aisle, have been promising a solution for Dreamers for 17 years, with nothing to show for it.

This is our opportunity to make sure these young immigrants are treated fairly and guaranteed a future in America with a bridge onto the legal immigration system. We take the exact criteria that the Obama administration laid out in the DACA program. That is in this legislation.

This bill will also help us end family separation, which I think there is a great deal of bipartisanship for in this Chamber. Our country should have the ability to enforce its laws and to keep families together, which is exactly what the Obama administration was attempting to do until the courts got in the way. We can fix that here.

And lastly, we need to modernize our immigration system. We are a nation of immigrants. I am the child of immigrants, and I am so proud of it. But our immigration laws are outdated. Our immigration system has to be modernized so that it is better aligned with our economy so that immigrants who come to this country have the best opportunity to grow, to prosper, and to contribute.

The alternative is the status quo. A vote against this legislation is the status quo.

What is the status quo? A porous, wall-less border; uncertainty for Dreamers; young people who could lose their status within months; families separated at the border; and an outdated immigration system that dishonors every American.

So this is our chance to come together. Is this legislation perfect? Every Member of this House could find an excuse to vote against this bill. But that is the problem with immigration, that nothing has ever been good enough. When nothing is good enough, you get nothing. And that is not fair to the American people.

That is why I sat at the table, and I have been at the table for weeks, not just with Republicans, with Democrats, good colleagues like Mr. Polis. We sat long hours trying to reach a compromise, and it is always elusive. Let's change that now.

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