Prohibitions Relating to Deferred Action for Aliens

Floor Speech

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Mr. LABRADOR. Mr. Speaker, as I sit here and I listen to the other side talk about this issue, I wonder if they even understand what is happening at the border.

In 2011, there were only 6,500 children coming to the border. In 2012, the President acted through DACA, and we started seeing an increase of these children coming to the border. Today, in 2014, we will have 90,000 children rushing to the border, and next year, it is estimated that we will have 142,000 children coming to the border.

Almost 2 months ago, Gilberto Ramos, a 15-year-old boy from Guatemala, was found lying in brush, dead from the heat. Many of these children that are coming to the border don't make it across the river. There are reports of discoveries of small, lifeless bodies washed up along the riverbanks. Many of these children are abused, they are victimized, and they are raped.

We must understand that the President is responsible because of his failure to fully comply with the law. We have heard a lot from the other side that the President acted because we did not act. Well, that is not true.

The reality is that the President and his party had majorities in both Houses of Congress for 2 years, and you failed to act, so don't point your finger at us. In November of 2012--in November of 2012--we passed in this House a STEM Jobs Act, which was the beginning of a step-by-step approach to actually deal with the immigration process. What did you do? You didn't vote for it, and the Senate refused to take it up.

In September of 2011, we passed here in the House the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, and the Senate again refused to act, which would have been the beginning of a step-by-step approach for us to deal with the immigration process. You have refused to do small things.

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