Sheila Jackson Lee: “It certainly saddens me to have to come call legislation harsh and cruel; for if there is anything that we should do in…”

“It certainly saddens me to have to come call legislation harsh and cruel; for if there is anything that we should do in a bipartisan or, frankly, nonpartisan manner, it should be the complement to the Statue of Liberty, which, over the centuries, has been the standard-bearer of the values and virtues of this Nation. I am saddened that we have come to a point, having worked on the Judiciary Committee with outstanding leaders like my ranking member, my chairman, the subcommittee ranking, Ms. Lofgren, for many years on real immigration reform, here we are today. Let me tell you why I am opposed to this. It may be because I represent Americans, Americans who are in the 18th Congressional District in Texas. It may be because we are one of the most diverse cities--my mayor says the most diverse city--in the Nation. It may be that we have South Asians and Haitians. We have people from Eastern Europe. We have those, of course, who are Latino. We have those from the Caribbean, and Africans, and many, many more. We have those from Europe. Here is what this bill will do. It will quash any opportunity for mom and dad to bring in extended family members, citizen mom and dad to bring in their family members. It ends legal immigration and what we have called the values of America, family reunification. At the same time, the ugly name that has been given to diversity visas is not true.…”