Lincoln Diaz-Balart: “I ask my colleagues to reject the Democrat leadership bill, among other reasons because it discriminates against…”

“I ask my colleagues to reject the Democrat leadership bill, among other reasons because it discriminates against American citizens who are naturalized if they have not been citizens of the United States for 5 years. It creates a category of second-class American citizens, and we should not be creating second-class citizens in this body. We should reject that bill. They try to do it surreptitiously. They try to hide their discrimination, but it is discrimination nonetheless. If we go to page 29 of their bill, they do not call it citizen. They say one has to be a national of the United States. Then they go to a section of the law, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22), for at least 5 years. Let us go to that law. A person has to either be a citizen of the United States, or they have to be a person who, though not a citizen, owes permanent allegiance. What does that mean? I quote from the case that defined that statute: ``Status as a national of the United States owing permanent allegiance can be created only by legislative or other action of the Federal Government that is not acquired by mere assertion of allegiance.'' So citizenship for 5 years, surreptitiously brought before this House, is what that law does, and they want us to create a second class citizenship tier in this country. Do not discriminate against citizens by nationalization. Reject the Democrat leadership bill and let us get on and vote for a decent piece of legislation this evening.”