Dana Rohrabacher: “Madam Chairman, this is not a debate between Members on one side who are a bunch of scrooges, who do not like people who…”

“Madam Chairman, this is not a debate between Members on one side who are a bunch of scrooges, who do not like people who come here from other countries. In fact, the fact is that immigrants have played an important role in the development of our country. They continue to play a positive role in our country, as we bring in more legal immigrants into the United States of America than all the rest of the nations combined. If Members look at my voting record, they will see that I support a high level of positive legal immigration, because legal immigrants who come here are required to take care of themselves and required not to be people who are dependent on government services for their lives when they get here. That is what differentiates legal immigration from illegal immigration. Illegal immigration now is threatening the well-being of the people of the United States. We have a responsibility to watch out for them. This includes legal residents and immigrants who have come here, gone through the system, immigrants who have gone through the process. They are the ones, by the way, who are the most insulted by this argument that we have got to provide the same services to illegal immigrants that we provide to them, after they have waited years and gone through the process and obeyed the law.”