All Quotes

I think it's maybe not unique, but it might be unique in this Congress.

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Iowa will be postponed.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill, before the short title, add the following new section: Sec. 514. None of the funds…

I do appreciate the fact that you are working with your Department to streamline it, make it more efficient, and more effective for our citizens.

And I would say that if we had that same sentiment applied to the people who are locked up in our prisons, there wouldn't be anyone in our prisons.

I believe all the evidence strongly supports that he's wrong about that.

I don't think he has the constitutional authority to do that.

I just make the point that the President is making up immigration laws as he goes.

I presume, on DACA and DAPA and the Morton memos and these components that have put this country through this strife that we have, you have looked at those constitutionally.

How do we get the constitutional question answered?

I don't think I'm hearing an argument as to why it would be a good idea to grant automatic citizenship to any baby that could be born in the United States to any mother who could find a way to get into the United States.

I would suggest one thing: We have, for the last 40 or 50 years, adopted the notion by piecemeal and by osmosis almost that mere birth on U.S. soil is enough.

The fundamental break we made with that idea in the Declaration of Independence is we form a body politic by mutual consent.

If we are to accept this newfound version of birthright citizenship... you can demand automatic citizenship, blows a hole through that notion of consent of the governed.

So the illegal parents, are they going to decide, or are we going to decide as representatives of the people of the United States of America?

This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners or aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every…

I believe, are uttering an ungrounded statement in that that clause, that troublesome clause of 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof' defined it differently for clear reasons.

And I believe in American exceptionalism. I believe we can have both.