Xavier Becerra: “let me first acknowledge the work of the chairman of the subcommittee which I sit on, the gentleman from Texas [Mr.…”

“let me first acknowledge the work of the chairman of the subcommittee which I sit on, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Smith] for his work in trying to bring forward a bill on immigration. Let me say that I am very disappointed in the rule today because, despite what we have constantly heard over the last 2 years from the new majority about having open rules, this is a very, very closed and restricted rule. Although we have about 32 amendments on the floor for debate, some for only 5 to 10 minutes, we had over 130 amendments that we wished to have heard, and unfortunately very few of those are now made in order. This is also a very unfair bill. Despite the characterizations of this as a very fair bill, it is a very unfair bill for both American families and for American workers. Unfair for American families because the only choice American families have under this legislation to preserve their opportunity to bring in a spouse, a child, a brother or sister is to try to strike an entire portion of this bill. If we leave in that particular portion of the bill that deals with immigration of family members, what we will see is devastation for families trying to bring in their immediate family relatives. For American workers, it is a devastating bill because it has no protection for American workers.”