On the recordMarch 4, 2015
We have spent the last week and a half debating funding for the Department of Homeland Security, a debate that started because my colleagues on the other side of the aisle didn't like the President's executive actions on immigration. House Republicans finally did do what they ought to have done all along: joining with Democrats to pass the bipartisan funds for DHS through Fiscal Year 2015. That legislation has restored certainty for thousands of employees at the Department of Homeland Security; and, even more importantly, it ensures the safety and security of our entire Nation. Mr. Speaker, while we settled the funding for DHS, we haven't addressed the issues that led us to the impasse in the first place. Republicans in both the House and the Senate wanted to hinder the President's legal authority to better manage our broken immigration system. They have called it illegal amnesty, and many of their conservative counterparts have gone as far as calling the President a tyrant, but they have not offered any plan of their own. Today, during this Special Order hour, I would like to take the opportunity, on behalf of our Progressive Caucus, to join with my colleague, the Congressman from Arizona, to express our concerns from the Progressive Caucus' perspective on our plans for the future as it relates to immigration. To that extent, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva).
