Bipartisan Immigration Reform

Floor Speech

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I have the incredible privilege of representing El Paso, Texas, which is a vibrant, wonderful, and generous community of goodwill that is right on the U.S.-Mexico border. My community has seen firsthand the challenges that come with a significant number of people fleeing their homeland and seeking refuge in the United States. We have opened up our pantries, we have opened up our wallets, and we have opened up our hearts, but it is time for Congress to act.

I am so proud to be spending this Special Order hour talking about the first bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in Congress in a decade. In fact, even today, it is the only bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that exists in Congress. It is a bill that addresses the border and beyond. It is a national security bill. It is an economic bill. It is a bill that finally forces Congress to do its job.

While we are seeing a large number of migrants arriving at our Nation's front door, at the same time, we have 8 million unfilled jobs in our country. If we want to be a competitive nation and if we want to make sure that we are at the forefront of having a bold economy, then, frankly, we need immigrants. However, we also need order and humanity at the border. President Biden has repeatedly asked Congress to do its job and find a legislative solution.

Now, the Senate has just introduced their own bipartisan bill. We don't know the fate of that, but what we in the House know is that we have a wonderful bipartisan coalition that has introduced a real solution, and that real solution is the Dignity Act.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce and yield the floor to one of my cosponsors who herself is an expert on immigration.

Scholten).

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Hillary Scholten. I so appreciate her leadership and her support of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I was born and raised on the U.S.-Mexico border. I am a third-generation border resident. My children are both adults. My son, Cristian, and my daughter, Eloisa, are fourth-generation border residents.

No one wants a solution to the border more than those of us who live there, who have made our lives there, raised our kids there, and know that we will spend the rest of our days there.

We need to come together and find areas of compromise. There is so much disunity, but we can find unity, and the Dignity Act provides us with that.

Wild), a cosponsor of the Dignity Act, a dear friend, and an incredible leader.

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, can you imagine if we came together and actually solved the most politically divisive issue facing our Nation today? The American people would be incredibly relieved. They would be so grateful. We could check this key issue off our list and move on to all the other issues that our Nation faces.

Manning), another wonderful colleague who is a cosponsor of the Dignity Act.

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Ms. Manning's powerful voice.

Mr. Speaker, many of the sponsors of the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, the Dignity Act, are relatively new to Congress, including Ms. Scholten and Ms. Manning, who you heard from.

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Sorensen so much. I am so grateful for his leadership and support.

Mr. Speaker, there are diverse groups and organizations that support the Dignity Act, from the evangelical community, to the American Chamber of Commerce, to ABIC, the American Business Immigration Council.

It is remarkable that once we put up our bill, our bipartisan bill, people from every corner of this country have been clamoring, asking us when it is coming to the floor, when will it get a vote because they are in support.

Slotkin), who is an incredible leader here in Congress and a colleague, a classmate that I was elected to Congress with, another cosponsor of the Dignity Act.

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Slotkin for those very powerful words. She mentioned something that I think is so important to repeat. As I have been talking to colleagues on both sides of the aisle about the Dignity Act, they have pointed out things they don't like or things that they consider imperfect.

I have said two things in response: Please give me a suggestion on how you would change whatever provision it is that you don't like and how you would accomplish that in a bipartisan way. That is the first thing I say. The second thing I say is, if this bipartisan bill that to date has about 30 bipartisan cosponsors, a really great coalition of bipartisan support, if this isn't the bipartisan immigration bill you like, I would be happy to look at yours.

If folks don't like this bill, they can either introduce their own after working hard to produce a bipartisan product like we did or they can even offer suggestions on provisions they would like to see changed as long as those changes reflect the bipartisan compromise that we worked so hard to create in this bill.

Houlahan), who was just in my district and my hometown this weekend.

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud of my colleagues and so incredibly honored and privileged to be working alongside them toward this very noble purpose. I am so proud of my Republican colleagues, as well, and honored they are on this bill.

It is a strange thing to say, but it actually takes a lot of courage for people to compromise in this place. The U.S. Congress today, unfortunately, is in some ways set up to ensure that our divisions are even more deeply rooted and that the chasm between us is made even greater.

It really is up to each and every one of us to build a bridge over that chasm, to find that pathway toward unity, and to focus, really, on areas of agreement instead of areas of disagreement. It is what the American people want. It is what the American people deserve.

A couple of my colleagues mentioned the trip to El Paso last weekend. Since I was elected to Congress my first year in 2019, I have brought over 25 percent of Congress--that number is probably even higher now-- to El Paso. I invite my colleagues to join me. The trips are really insightful. We don't just talk to Border Patrol agents. We actually do a very holistic evaluation and have robust conversations with everyone that a broken system touches.

It helps put into perspective how complex the solution really is and how unacceptable it is that we have gone so long without addressing this solution.

I am going to close with this, Mr. Speaker, because my colleagues have done such an effective job of advocating for this bipartisan compromise. I mentioned just a little bit ago the large number of supporting organizations that have come to us and told us they want to help. They want to see this bill get to the floor. They want a solution. The organizations range from left leaning to right leaning and everything in between.

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to the Power and Communication Contractors Association, a group that came to Washington specifically to advocate for the Dignity Act. This is not a group I reached out to. This is not a group that any of us called and invited to D.C. They heard about the bill. They shared it with each other. They are a trade organization that is trying to install broadband across this country, especially in rural areas, but they are up against workforce shortages.

When they learned of the Dignity Act, they reached out to me. They asked me to speak to their group. I visited with them last week in the evening after a long day here on Capitol Hill, and they gave me such inspiration.

If regular Americans who are just trying to do their jobs are coming to D.C. to beg us to do ours, something is very wrong, but something is also very right. That means the American people are finally demanding of us that we do our job.

I would be remiss if I didn't say this: My party should have worked to compromise a long time ago.

Colleagues of mine on the other side of the aisle today are refusing to compromise. They keep pointing to their bill, H.R. 2. They keep saying this is the solution. I can tell you it is not.

A fundamental component to H.R. 2, something that is rarely talked about but fundamental to H.R. 2, is that Mexico be willing to accept every migrant the U.S. decides to expel. That has never happened, nor will it ever happen, so H.R. 2 is not realistic.

House Democrats who are holding onto the perfect are not realistic, either.

Let's come together. Let's fix this once and for all. Let's get to work and bring this to the floor. Let's put everyone to the test. Do we want a solution, or do we not?

On behalf of my colleagues and the millions of Americans who are ready for this vote, let's get this done.

Mr. Speaker, I am so grateful for the opportunity to highlight this very important bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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