I would also like to remind you that our U.S. citizens living in the offshore Territories of the United States face unique challenges posed by our geographic isolation, our historic under development, and our constitutional status.

I want to associate myself with the views admitted for the record by Governor de Jongh from the U.S. Virgin Islands regarding the unfunded Insular Energy Program.

I would respectfully urge this Subcommittee to work closely with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development to appropriate necessary funds under the Insular Energy Program in FY 2012 and beyond.

Let us not forget we are also a nation of immigrants. While we have every right to regulate immigration, enforce our immigration laws, it makes no sense to demonize immigrants in America.

If the rule or the law is not working, you change it.

Sensible worksite enforcement designed to identify and penalize those employers who violate Federal law is one important aspect of our Nation's approach to immigration policy.

However, unless we do more, an enforcement-only approach will hurt the economy and cost American jobs over the long term.

As my colleagues and I travel around our Nation, we hear a consistent message from the American people: Fix our broken immigration system by enacting comprehensive reform.

The sad truth is that, since joining the American family 112 years ago, my people have never had a meaningful voice in their national government.

It was approved in a strong bipartisan vote at a time that we all know bipartisanship is in short supply.

It is inconceivable that some 45 years since the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964... are denied to four million of our citizens.