Dean Phillips: “The clock is ticking and thousands of Minnesotans are running out of time. Business owners are going to lose their…”

“The clock is ticking and thousands of Minnesotans are running out of time. Business owners are going to lose their workforce, workers are going to lose their jobs, and children are going to lose their parents, and it will be because we here in Congress failed to take simple action when we were called to make change. We have been handed a game-winning layup or, in Minnesota terms, an empty net, and all we have to do is tap in the puck. All we have to do is say to our Liberian population who came here fleeing bloody civil war and the terrors of the Ebola virus: You matter; you are doing everything right. The world took everything from you, and you came to our country. You work hard, legally, you pay your taxes, and you are valued members of our community. But because we gave Liberians an immigration status DED, that does not allow a pathway to citizenship; and because that status expires now in 4 days, these friends, neighbors, and family members will be subject to deportation, and it will tear our community apart, and it will be on us. Mr. Speaker, I recently heard from Nicole Mattson, a healthcare employer in senior care back in the Twin Cities: ``We don't have enough workers. At my facility, 60 percent of employees are immigrants, and over half of those are Liberians. We would have to say good-bye to a pool of talent that is highly skilled and educated.…”