Chris Van Hollen: “I stand to explain my votes on the immigration bills that this Congress considered today. I applaud our decision to pass…”

“I stand to explain my votes on the immigration bills that this Congress considered today. I applaud our decision to pass the Border Tunnel Prevention Act (H.R. 4830), which would make it illegal for any person to build or finance a cross-border tunnel and for any person to use such a tunnel to smuggle drugs, weapons, or undocumented immigrants. These tunnels have become remarkably sophisticated ways for lawbreakers to enter our country, and I strongly support this bill to ban their construction and use. This is, at least, a small step to better border patrol. But though we took one small step forward today, it is not enough. Instead of working on real reform, we passed the so-called ``Community Protection Act'' (H.R. 6094). This bill is not about protecting our community; it is about election-year scare tactics and fearmongering. We need to fight crime and we need to deport criminals. But we can already do that. This bill does not deal with people who are in our country illegally. We can already deport individuals who are here illegally. Nor does this bill relate to non-U.S. citizens who are legally in the United States but commit a crime. We can already deport gang members and any foreign national who is convicted of a crime ranging from murder to shoplifting. This bill gives the Executive Branch unprecedented powers to deport legal immigrants who have not committed any crime.…”