Jerry Nadler: “today we take up a massive bill to radically alter our Nation's immigration laws in a way that is more responsive to…”

“today we take up a massive bill to radically alter our Nation's immigration laws in a way that is more responsive to hysteria and prejudice than to reason and fact. Let there be no mistake: This Nation has every right and obligation to control our borders and to enforce our immigration laws. But absurd boondoggles, like building a giant fence, mindless cruelty, like sending legitimate refugees back to be murdered or tortured by their oppressors, and good old-fashioned Xenophobia, have nothing to do with legitimate protection of our borders. Immigration has not destroyed this country. New arrivals have long contributed to the social fabric and economic vitality of our communities. There are some things we should be doing to make life better for all Americans, like strengthening our worker protections laws, or cracking down on abuses of some of the employment-based visa programs. But the majority apparently has no interest in helping working people, only in setting people against each other. At the very leagues we need to split this bill, as the Senate has done, and not mix legal with illegal immigration issues. That is a fundamentally important step to take so we can debate the issues properly. I had planned to offer two amendments today which would have mitigated some of the most unfair, unjust, and downright un-American provisions of this bill.”