(WASHINGTON) – This morning, the U.S. House
Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing entitled, “America’s
Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement
of Laws Against Illegal Immigration.” During opening
remarks Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following
statement:
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| John Conyers. Jr. |
“I would like to commend Chairman Goodlatte for
choosing to make immigration reform the topic of the first hearing of
the Judiciary Committee in the 113th Congress. In doing so, this
Committee is joining a national debate that is moving
quickly and, I believe, in the right direction.
“First things first: I support comprehensive
immigration reform that will allow the 11 million undocumented
immigrants living among us to come out of the shadows, to submit to
background checks, to pay taxes, and to earn permanent legal
status.
“At the end of that
process—and I know it will be a substantial process— there must be the
opportunity to pursue citizenship for those who choose to do so. On this
point, I stand with the President, who spoke
passionately last week about his commitment to enacting comprehensive
immigration reform. On this point, I also stand with the bipartisan
group of 8 Senators (McCain, Graham, Rubio, Flake, Menendez, Schumer,
Durbin, and Bennet) who last week released a blueprint
for immigration reform and are now working to forge an agreement that
can pass the Senate. And on this point, I stand with all of those in the
House who have consistently voiced their support for comprehensive
immigration reform. I am hopeful that when the
time finally comes for a vote on this issue, a strong bipartisan
majority of members will stand united in their support for these
principles.
“And now is the time. Over the years, support for
immigration reform has continued to grow. The American people support
reform that allows undocumented immigrants to earn legal status and have
the opportunity to work toward citizenship.
And that makes sense. Isn’t that what America—a land of immigrants—is
all about? People come here to make a better life for themselves. In
many cases, they come here with the hope of becoming American. That is –
to become one of us.
“I say that now is the
time because we cannot wait much longer. I hope this hearing is the
beginning of an open dialogue focused on how we can create an
immigration system that serves American businesses, families,
and security.
“But the immigration debate has never really been
about what needs to be done. We all know what needs to be done. We know
that we need to ensure that we keep our borders secure. We know we need a
mandatory electronic employment verification
system to crack down on unauthorized hiring. We know we must fix our
broken employment and family visa systems going forward. We need a
system that works so well that people have no reason to try to get
around it—better to just go through it.
“Finally,
we know we must provide a way for the undocumented to come forward and
get right with the law. So it has never been about what comprehensive
immigration reform will entail. Rather, it has been about how we will
pass a bill through Congress. And, I believe that the chances of
passing a bill have never been better.
“In closing, Mr. Chairman, allow me to say that
there is no more critical economic and social justice issue facing our
nation today than fixing our broken immigration system. The Democratic
Members of this Committee
stand ready, willing, and able to work with you and your Members to
make the concept of comprehensive immigration reform a
reality.
WATCH HEARING HERE
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