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As the House of Representatives debated whether to consider the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018, Representative Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), the leader of a bipartisan discharge petition effort that has pressured House Republican Leadership to come to the table for immigration negotiations, spoke on the House Floor to urge his colleagues to support the bill.

“We are a nation of immigrants,” Curbelo said during the debate. “I am the child of immigrants, and I am so proud of it, but our immigration laws are outdated. Our immigration system has to be modernized so that it is better aligned with our economy, so that immigrants who come to this country have the best opportunity to grow, to prosper and to contribute.

“The alternative is the status quo, Curbelo continued. “A vote against this legislation is the status quo, and what’s the status quo? A porous, lawless border; uncertainty for DREAMers, young people who could lose their status within months; families separated at the border; and an outdated immigration system that dishonors every American. So, this is our chance to come together. Is this legislation perfect? Every member of this House could find an excuse to vote against this bill, but that’s the problem with immigration – that nothing has ever been good enough. And when nothing is good enough, you get nothing – and that is not fair to the American people.”

The House is expected to vote on passage of the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018, of which Curbelo is a co-sponsor, tomorrow. The legislation is a product of several weeks of negotiations facilitated by Republican Leadership. The bill would:

• Immediately and permanently protect the entire DACA-eligible population from deportation;
• Provide a bridge into the legal immigration system for the entire DACA-eligible population and children of legal non-immigrants;
• Guarantee the opportunity for green card and naturalization of the entire DACA-eligible population and children of legal non-immigrants;
• Repeal the per country cap on employment visas;
• Prevent family separation by DHS at the border by requiring DHS to maintain the care and custody of undocumented immigrants together with their children while any charge for illegally crossing the border is pending;
• Approve funding for DHS family residential centers;
• Protect continued funding for state and local governments, regardless of so-called “sanctuary city” policies;
• Eliminate minor traffic violations as cause for detention or custody;
• Guarantee DACA-eligible individuals are shielded from disqualification from eligibility for helping undocumented family members;
• Authorizes funding for border infrastructure, border technology, border personnel, and modernization of ports of entry; and
•  Ensure apprenticeships and vocational programs were eligible for higher education point credits.

A full transcript of Curbelo’s remarks on the House Floor is available below. A video of his remarks is available here.

Curbelo to Colleagues Debating Immigration: When Nothing is Good Enough, You Get Nothing
Floor of the House of Representatives
Washington D.C.
June 21, 2018
https://youtu.be/_GvDbBD8JnE

“I thank my colleague.

“Mr. Speaker, I am relatively new to this body, but I have been following politics in this country for quite some time, and for many years I have been hearing Members of Congress – on both sides of the aisle, but more so on this side – promising the country that we would secure the border, that we would disrupt the drug traffickers who are poisoning our people, and that we would disrupt the human traffickers, which abuse, rape small children and others, as they take them across the desert. This is the opportunity to fulfill the promise of securing our country’s border because this country – just like any other country in the world – has the right and the responsibility to secure its border and enforce its immigration laws.

“For a long time, I have also been hearing people talk about DREAMers – the victims of a broken immigration system – young immigrants brought to our country as children, who grew up here, went to school with our own children, pledge allegiance to the same flag, and today are contributing to this great country. And a lot of people in this Chamber – on both sides, though most on the other side aisle – have been promising a solution for DREAMers for 17 years, with nothing to show for it. This is our opportunity to make sure these young immigrants are treated fairly and guaranteed a future in America with a bridge onto the legal immigration system. We take the exact criteria that the Obama Administration laid out in the DACA program, that’s in this legislation.

“This bill will also help us end family separation, which I think there is a great deal of bipartisanship for in this Chamber. Our country should have the ability to enforce its laws and to keep families together, which is exactly what the Obama Administration was attempting to do until the courts got in the way. We can fix that here.

“And lastly, we need to modernize our immigration system. We are a nation of immigrants. I am the child of immigrants, and I am so proud of it, but our immigration laws are outdated. Our immigration system has to be modernized so that it is better aligned with our economy, so that immigrants who come to this country have the best opportunity to grow, to prosper and to contribute.

“The alternative is the status quo. A vote against this legislation is the status quo, and what’s the status quo? A porous, lawless border; uncertainty for DREAMers, young people who could lose their status within months; families separated at the border; and an outdated immigration system that dishonors every American.

“So, this is our chance to come together. Is this legislation perfect? Every member of this House could find an excuse to vote against this bill, but that’s the problem with immigration – that nothing has ever been good enough. And when nothing is good enough, you get nothing – and that is not fair to the American people. That’s why I sat at the table, and I have been at the table for weeks not just with Republicans, but with Democrats – good colleagues like Mr. Polis. We sat long hours to try and reach a compromise and it’s always allusive. Let’s change that now.

“I yield back.”