America's Immigration Story

Floor Speech

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Ms. CROCKETT. Mr. Speaker, as a Texan, I rise today to speak on the expiration of title 42, but our immigration story neither begins nor ends there.

As a child, I was taught songs like ``America the Beautiful,'' but today I can honestly say that beauty must really be in the eye of the beholder because the inhumanity that is playing out around migrants is far from beautiful.

Congress needs to pass humane, substantive, and sustainable, bipartisan immigration reform that provides for an orderly, transparent, and efficient process for asylum seekers, clears out the decades-long backlog, and keeps our communities safe.

For years, House and Senate Democrats have worked to pass immigration reform with little to no support from our Republican colleagues.

I am left asking: Is this what America the beautiful looks like?

Republicans are constantly fanning the flames of hate instead of offering help to a country that is craving more leadership and less lies. Republicans have essentially decided that immigrants make for great political pawns. The problem is, we aren't playing chess. This is real life, with radical rhetoric that has real-world consequences and getting people killed.

Just this weekend a man in Brownsville, Texas, used his truck to plow through and kill eight people sitting at a bus stop. We have got to do better. America really needs to be beautiful.

As a Texan, I rise today to speak on the expiration of Title 42. But our immigration story neither begins nor ends there.

As a child, I was taught songs like ``America the Beautiful'', but today I can honestly say that beauty must be in the eye of the beholder, because the inhumanity that is playing out around migrants is far from beautiful.

Congress needs to pass humane, substantive, & sustainable bipartisan immigration reform that provides for an orderly, transparent, and efficient process for asylum seekers, clears out the decades-long backlog, and keeps our communities safe.

For years, House and Senate Democrats have worked to pass immigration reform, with little to no support from our Republican colleagues.

I'm left asking, is this what America the Beautiful looks like?

Republicans are constantly fanning the flames hate instead of offering Help to a country that is craving more leadership and less lies. Republicans have essentially decided that immigrants make for great political pawns. The problem is, we aren't playing chess, this is real life, with radical rhetoric that has real-world consequences-- getting people killed.

Just this weekend a man in Brownsville TX used his truck to plow through and kill 8 people sitting at a bus stop next to a shelter for migrants. And four years ago, a man radicalized by republican rhetoric walked into a Walmart in El Paso and murdered 23 people he believed were invading the border as part of the so-called ``great replacement''.

America, the beautiful? Not so much, but we can be. We used to be. And so with that maybe we need a little history. This country was founded by and is made up of immigrants. It is within the very fabric of who we are to do what the greatest speaker for this house always reminds us to do--recognize that our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power.

So let's ask ourselves, is America's continued inhumane treatment of immigrants beautiful? Does it live up to our values.

I yield back.

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