Opening Statement
Conyers Opening Statement on Full Committee Hearing on "Examining the Adequacy and Enforcement of Our Nation's Immigration Laws"
Washington, DC,
February 3, 2015
Statement of Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. As we convene our first hearing of the 114th Congress, I continue to hope – as I have in past congresses – that we will be able to work together in this committee to address important challenges and advance the cause of justice. But as we look to the future, we must first remember where we have been – particularly when it comes to the issue of immigration. In 2013, the chairman began the very first hearing this committee held by saying. "This year, congress will engage in a momentous debate on immigration." Unlike the Senate, which engaged in that momentous debate and passed a bill with strong bipartisan support, the House never had the opportunity to hold that debate. Bipartisan reform bills in the House and Senate received no action at all. Instead we just voted again and again to take DACA away from young people, to deny due process protections to children fleeing violence, and to block other sensible administrative reforms. Second, although the first hearing held by this committee in each of the last two congresses has dealt with immigration, the titles of the hearings and the witness lists could not be more different. In the last congress, the hearing was titled "America's Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and enforcement of Laws Against Illegal Immigration." We discussed the need for immigration reform, Including reforms to our enforcement system and our legal immigration system. We even discussed the important question of how we treat the millions of undocumented people who are living in our communities today. The title of today's hearing – "Examining the Adequacy and Enforcement of Our Nation's Immigration Laws" – focuses only on the issue of enforcement. and reading the testimonies submitted by our witnesses and the majority's press releases, it is clear that this hearing will not address opportunities for legal immigration. Instead, this hearing will address only claims that our immigration laws are – against all evidence to the contrary – somehow not being adequately enforced. From the endless list of grievances it is even hard to know what the focus of the hearing will be. Here are just a few of the topics that the majority and its witnesses plan to discuss today:
The list goes on but I think I have made my point. We also know that this hearing sets the stage for a number of legislative hearings that the subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security will be holding over the next eight days. Two legislative hearings on four bills that would make our immigration system more dysfunctional and unfair, not less so. Finally, the irony is not lost on me that the majority will spend the next several hours attacking this administration for not taking enforcement seriously, but they are now threatening to shut down the Department of Homeland Security for the second time in just 15 months. Just last week, all three former secretaries of Homeland Security – including two appointed by President George W. Bush – urged Congress not to jepardize the department's funding. They wrote: "funding for the DHS is used to protect our ports and our borders: to secure our air travel and cargo; to protect the federal government and our nation's information, technology, and infrastructure from cyber-attacks; to fund essential law enforcement activities; to guard against violent extremists; and to ensure the safety of the president and national leaders." I ask unanimous consent to enter that letter into the record. I hope we can stop playing games and finally get serious about legislating real solutions for our businesses, families, and national security. I thank our witnesses for joining us today and I yield back the balance of my time.
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