I was heartened to see more than two dozen Republicans join Democrats yesterday to vote against a malicious amendment that mandates we deport thousands of young people who did not choose to come here illegally as children but nonetheless have grown up American in their hearts. Unfortunately, our efforts failed and just now the House Majority passed legislation that attaches the deportation of the Dreamers to funding for our emergency responders, the TSA, customs and border patrol, port security, and other vital anti-terrorism operations. Instead, I voted for a clean Homeland Security funding bill because now is not the time to risk defunding the agency charged with keeping us safe just to score political points against the President. My colleagues have every right to disagree with President Obamas executive orders on immigration. I happen to believe that every law enforcement agency that operates with a limited budget - from the local police to the FBI to Immigration and Customs Enforcement - must prioritize who to investigate, arrest, prosecute, or deport. Mass deportation is not reform - it is the unworkable status quo. There have been record deportations in recent years. Yet millions of people remain undocumented, working in a shadow economy that depresses American wages, government revenues, and job creation. Instead of putting our national security at risk, lets fund the Department of Homeland Security and then have debate - a real debate - over how to modernize an outdated and inefficient immigration system that is failing our country in so many ways.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 18:45:54 +0000
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