Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2019

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I am in its current form.

Mr. Speaker, this amendment will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are sympathetic, forgiving, and reasonable people. They understand the idea of providing some type of certainty and stability for the approximately 700,000 DACA-eligible recipients who were brought to the United States by their parents at a young age and who otherwise have played by the rules while growing up in this country.

Mr. Speaker, what they don't understand is providing green cards and a path to citizenship for violent gang members, national security threats, and those who, through their disdain for our laws, thumb their noses at Lady Liberty and the Constitution of the United States.

They definitely don't understand why this bill treats men and women at the Department of Homeland Security like they are the dangerous ones, preventing them from receiving and utilizing readily available information in order to remove gang members, national security threats, and other public safety threats from our country to keep our families, our communities, and our Nation safe.

This motion to recommit simply says that if an alien has been designated a danger to Americans, then they don't deserve to become an American.

It provides that aliens whose applications are denied on the basis of criminal activity, national security risks, or as violent gang members are automatically referred to the Department of Homeland Security for a determination of removability from the United States.

Under this bill, information about criminal activity provided in an application for a green card may not be used for the purpose of immigration enforcement, even if the application is denied or withdrawn.

In practice, this means that, if an applicant has a murder conviction or if the applicant is a gang member and DHS knows about it because of the application, they can't refer that person for removal. It is just wrong.

The perverse and practical effect of H.R. 6 is that criminal aliens, gang members, terrorist threats, and other public safety threats who could be denied a green card will simply stay in this country, as if we are simply a sanctuary nation.

Mr. Speaker, some cities might want to be sanctuary cities, but most Americans want safety from crime, not sanctuary for criminals.

This MTR also does not affect the stay of removal provisions in H.R. 6 or the provisions relating to finality of adjudication in the bill. Thus, the alien cannot be removed until they have exhausted their appeals and received a final decision on their application.

If Democrats see fit to exclude criminals, national security risks, public

safety risks, and gang members from receiving green cards, then they should vote for this motion to recommit to ensure those dangerous aliens are also denied a safe haven in the United States.

I am sure most of the individuals who will take advantage of the provisions in this bill respect the U.S. Constitution and obey the laws of this Nation, but history has proven that criminal aliens, gang members, terrorists, and other public safety threats apply for immigration benefits all the time. If they didn't, we wouldn't have to have section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes such aliens inadmissible.

Even under DACA, under President Obama's program, criminals have applied. In fact, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, almost 8 percent of total DACA requesters, 59,786 individuals, had arrest records, which included such offenses as assault and battery, rape, murder, and drunk driving. And 199 individuals who requested DACA had 10 or more arrests.

H.R. 6 also provides green cards to gang members. Criminal gangs are a scourge on our communities, preying on vulnerable populations while committing a vast array of criminal acts.

H.R. 6 should not give gang members a foothold in the U.S. by fast- tracking them to a green card.

This MTR makes it easier for DHS to deny the applications of gang members by making it an eligibility requirement that an alien is not a gang member and by explicitly permitting DHS to take into account the information found in gang databases.

Hear me clearly: No matter what Democratic colleagues may say in the next few minutes, if Members don't vote for this MTR, they cannot look their constituents in the eye and honestly say that criminals will not get green cards.

If the Democrats want to prevent such dangerous individuals from getting green cards, they must vote for this MTR. To do otherwise is to prevent a commonsense change that will ensure the safety of law-abiding Americans, as well as those who are seeking to be part of the greatest nation on Earth, the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I may be new to Washington, but, apparently, I have learned something that the other side of the aisle has not, which is how to read a bill. If my colleagues go to page 11, line 21, of this bill, they will learn that gang members are not eligible under

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to spare me this false outrage because if this really were about gang violence, my colleagues have continuously had opportunities to pass legislation that would curb that threat.

If this were about gun violence and gang violence, where were my Republican colleagues last year when Congressman Connolly introduced H.R. 5960, a bill actually called the Preventing Gang Violence Act of 2018, a bill that they killed in committee?

If my colleagues across the aisle truly wanted to combat gang violence, why did they refuse to let H.R. 1297, the Youth PROMISE Act, come out of committee when it was introduced in the 114th Congress by Congressman Scott?

At the end of the day, there is no question that no one is interested in allowing gang members to benefit from the American Dream and Promise Act, and that is why this bill addresses this exact issue.

At the end of the day, the Secretary has the ability to deny any applicant if they have directly participated in gang activity, even if they have not been convicted of a crime.

Mr. Speaker, what we have lost in the debate today, in my view, is what this bill is all about at its core.

I rise today not just as a Member of this body, not just as a proud American, but as the son of immigrants, as the son of African refugees who came to the United States over 35 years ago from a war-torn country in east Africa.

They became naturalized citizens, and they never forgot nor took for granted the freedom and the opportunities that the United States of America gave them and their children.

That I am able to stand in this Chamber with all of my colleagues today is proof that the American Dream is real, and I want it to be attainable for generations to come.

That is why we must pass H.R. 6 today. Right now, there are young people all across our country who know no other home but the United States. These kids are dedicated and willing to put in the hard work to earn a college education. They are excelling in their careers. They are contributing to our communities in countless ways every day.

We cannot allow these young people to continue to live in fear, to be at risk every single day of being ripped away from their lives and losing everything that they know.

In America, immigrants are integral parts of each of our communities and of our economy. They are our friends. They are our neighbors. They are our coworkers. They are fighting each and every day, just as we are, to live up to the American ideals that our country was founded on.

Mr. Speaker, I have often heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle offer quotes in this Chamber, in my limited time here. Well, let me give you a quote.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer a quote, and the quote is as follows: ``It is bold men and women, yearning for freedom and opportunity, who leave their homelands and come to a new country to start their lives over. They believe in the American Dream. And over and over, they make it come true for themselves, for their children, and for others. They give more than they receive. They labor and succeed. And often they are entrepreneurs. But their greatest contribution is more than economic, because they understand in a special way how glorious it is to be an American.''

That quote, those are not my words. Those are the words of President Ronald Reagan, and they were delivered by President Ronald Reagan in 1980, the same year my parents came to the United States.

Let's pass H.R. 6 today, and let's treat every person in our country who has struggled and is just as American as you and I are, let's treat them with the respect that they deserve.

Vote ``no'' on this motion to recommit, and let's pass H.R. 6 today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I missed votes today because I was in my district with Vice President Pence to tour the emergency response initiatives to the recently declared state of emergency, due to flooding in the Tulsa Area.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 235, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 236, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 237, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 238, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 239, and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 240.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.