On the recordDecember 20, 2018
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time. For me, this is a very simple thought; it is the same thought I have had all along; this country, of all countries, should not be building a wall. This country, the land of opportunity, the land of freedom, the land where people come to build a new life, should not be building a wall. So what do we do? There isn't the support necessary for building the wall, for funding it. So at the last minute, we sneak it into a so- called must-pass bill, or otherwise, you shut the government down. But the President has already said that he doesn't mind taking credit or taking responsibility for shutting this government down. This is very simple. People say, well, there is aid here, disaster aid. We have been dealing with this disaster issue now for over a year, and still, we don't do the right thing. This is simple for me. We can't build a wall. This wall will be a waste of money. I don't know who, but as we speak here, there are people already who know how to get over, through, and under the wall. The wall is not what we need. What we need is immigration reform, and we need another outlook. But, lastly, again, I repeat: of all of the countries in the world, this is the one that can't go down in history as being the greatest democracy when it builds a wall. And in my city, there is a statue that says: Give me your tired; give me your poor. But not if they come from Mexico.
