Juan Vargas: “I want to thank the gentleman from California for yielding to allow me to speak on this very important issue to…”

“I want to thank the gentleman from California for yielding to allow me to speak on this very important issue to California. But I especially want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for putting it in the context of our faith and our faith communities and our faith tradition. He, of course, quoted famously from Matthew 25. He could have quoted from Leviticus. In fact, I would like to do that now, from Leviticus 19:33-34: When an alien resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. And I have to ask, are we keeping that commandment? Are we keeping that rule? Are we keeping that pronouncement? Of course we're not. I wish that we were. Immigration reform is vital to the economy of our country and, in particular, to California and my district. California is unique in that it is home to the technology industry, which relies heavily and highly on skilled talent and has an incredibly successful agriculture industry, which needs a temporary worker program that provides a predictable workforce. The more California business leaders I speak with, the more apparent it is that immigration reform is the key to stimulating our economy and encouraging job growth.…”