Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters of opposition to H.R. 3004, namely, the Federal Defenders of New York and 407 local, State, national immigrant civil rights, faith, and labor organizations. Federal Defenders of New York, Inc. New York, NY, June 29, 2017. Re H.R. 3004, Kate's Law Hon. Paul Ryan, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Chair, House Judiciary Committee, Washington, DC. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Ryan, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Goodlatte, and Mr. Conyers: We write on behalf of the Federal Public and Community Defenders in response to inquiries for our views on H.R. 3004. We oppose the bill for the following reasons. H.R. 3004 would make it a crime to openly and directly present oneself to immigration officials seeking asylum, temporary protection, or for other innocent reasons. In doing so, the bill would incentivize people with genuine claims of fear to enter the country surreptitiously. Even while criminalizing essentially innocent conduct and drastically increasing potential penalties, the bill would purport to deprive defendants of the right to challenge the validity of fundamentally unfair or unlawful removal orders.…”