On the recordJuly 23, 2019
As was said earlier, there are very few detained noncriminal Venezuelans with removal orders, and there is no mechanism currently in place for directly removing aliens to Venezuela. Madam Speaker, we stand with the people of Venezuela in their fight against the socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro. We recognize that only through change in leadership and a change in direction will Venezuela change course and begin to rebound, in terms of adopting economic reforms and abandoning the socialist policies of the Maduro regime. We stand with the people, and we stand ready to embrace the newly elected President, should he take control of the country. But this bill, H.R. 549, is a bill that is simply not appropriate for the circumstances right now. This broken TPS system that we have would not be sufficient to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who would seek to use it. Suffice it to say, it is similar to helping people by throwing them a raft full of holes. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 549, and I yield back the balance of my time.
