Joe Crowley: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Much of the same rhetoric we are hearing right now from the other side of the aisle…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Much of the same rhetoric we are hearing right now from the other side of the aisle is similar to the same rhetoric we heard back in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s against the Irish when they came to America. We heard it said about Italian Americans in the 1880s and 1890s. We continue to hear the same type of rhetoric about African Americans in our country in terms of the percentage of criminal activity that takes place. What we have seen happen is the further incarceration and enslavement of African Americans in our Nation today because of similar rhetoric. I want to make it very clear: ``Immigrant'' and ``criminal'' are not synonyms. You make it out to be that way by the passage of this legislation. Talking about law enforcement, in New York City, James O'Neill, the police commissioner, has said this law will make New York City less safe than it is today. I remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that 9/11 happened in my hometown, in my city. Since then, there have been no major incidents of terrorism in New York City because they have been able to collect information--much of it from the undocumented community in our city--to prevent similar events from happening again. That is why this bill is so egregious. The first responsibility of the Federal Government is to protect its citizens from foreign invasion, foreign attack, terrorist attacks. This bill will withhold terrorism money from New York City.…”