On the recordJanuary 12, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to raise my concerns about the upcoming Homeland Security funding bill. The tragedies in Paris reinforce how critical it is that we keep DHS strong and appropriately financed. Unfortunately, the majority leadership has decided to play politics with our national security. The appropriations package is littered with amendments which would undermine what little progress we have made to our broken immigration system. Our family business just lost one of our most valuable employees, Cesar Arias. He may have originally come to Virginia without proper papers, but in the Reagan years, he found a way to stay here, raise his family, and open and close our store 6 days a week for more than 20 years. Cesar is one small, powerful example among millions of new Americans who have helped our economy grow and kept our democracy strong. He believed it was long past time for comprehensive immigration reform. Mr. Speaker, I urge the Republicans to bring a clean bill to the floor without the anti-immigrant amendments. We need to invest in homeland security, and we need a real conversation about immigration reform. ____________________
