Sheila Jackson Lee: “Thank you. Mr. Chairman, the Homeland Security Department has been entrusted by the United States Congress and the…”

“Thank you. Mr. Chairman, the Homeland Security Department has been entrusted by the United States Congress and the American people to give guidance to the security and the protection of their families. It is not families who, by chance, are considered undocumented; it is all families. What the President did in his executive action is to define for America who is here in this country; not only that, he gave an economic engine by providing for fines and fees in order to get in regular order. By the way, Mr. Chairman, these individuals are not getting in front of those who have been standing in line through the legal immigration process. They have a separate process that simply gives them status, not immigration status. He is not bestowing upon them immigration status. As I close, I ask: Is there any heart and warmth to those who are debating these questions? First, do we understand family, and do we understand we are a nation of immigrants? What has been established is an infrastructure of law to help them be established in regular order. What we are doing is undermining the national security of this Nation to cast against those who are innocent. I ask my colleagues to defeat these amendments and to vote for a clean Homeland Security bill. Let's support the national security of Americans. Mr. Chair, while it is not perfect, I would support H.R.…”