Hispanic Caucus on Anti-Immigrant Resolution, H.Res. 639

Linda Sánchez Statement on Republican Anti-Immigrant Amicus Brief Resolution

Washington, DC – Representative Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a member of the Ways and Means Committee, today made the following statement for the record on H. Res. 639, the House Republican resolution to undo President Obama’s Executive Action on immigration:

Mister Speaker,

I rise today in opposition to H. Res. 639, a misguided resolution forced on all members of the House of Representatives in an attempt to block President Obama’s execution action on immigration. This is yet another partisan effort by House Republicans to tear families apart and separate children from their parents.

This amicus brief that Speaker Ryan will file on behalf of the entire House of Representatives not only goes against well-established Constitutional precedents but also against our economic interest. The Congressional Budget Office and numerous other researchers have found that immigration raises average wages for U.S. born workers and grows our economy by billions of dollars. In my state of California alone, the President’s executive action will generate 130,000 jobs and lift 40,000 Californian children out of poverty.

The actions taken by the President on the subject of immigration are within authority of the executive branch. I am proud to join 186 of my House colleagues in support of the President’s immigration executive actions.

Castro Statement on Passage of Anti-Immigrant Republican Resolution

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) released the following statement after voting against H.Res. 639, a Republican measure that would allow Speaker Paul Ryan to file an amicus brief on behalf of the House in the U.S. v. Texas litigation challenging President Obama’s executive actions on immigration:

“The United States is a nation of immigrants and it always will be. That’s what makes our country strong. This Republican resolution was purely political and counterproductive to fixing our nation’s broken immigration system. We should embrace hardworking immigrant families, not seek to break them apart.

“Today’s vote does not represent the very best of our nation and who we aspire to be. I am confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the President’s actions, and I hope Congress will stop obstructing progress and instead act to improve our nation’s immigration policies.”

H.Res. 639 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 234-186.

Video of Congressman Castro speaking in opposition of H.Res. 639 is available here: LINK

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CHAIRMAN BECERRA TO SPEAKER RYAN: IT’S TIME TO LEGISLATE, NOT LITIGATE

WASHINGTON, DC – This morning, Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (CA-34) spoke from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in opposition to Speaker Ryan’s forced vote on H.Res. 639, a resolution permitting the Speaker to file an amicus brief on behalf o the U.S. House before the Supreme Court in opposition to President Obama’s lawful executive actions on immigration. A transcript of his remarks follows:

Chairman Becerra: “Last week, 186 members of this House and 39 Senators from the Senate filed an amicus brief. We filed it before the Supreme Court in this case being discussed, but we filed it without using taxpayer dollars. We filed it individually, separately from our official duty.

“The brief that we submitted supports the actions which President Obama took, because he is our nation's Chief Executive, and he has the right to try to make our laws work as best as possible, and in the case of our immigration laws, everyone agrees, that they are broken, they are fractured and it's a system that does not work coherently.”

“There are more than four million people who will be impacted by the decision that the Supreme Court reaches in the case of U.S. vs. Texas. President Obama took his actions, exercising his authority under the Constitution, to execute and implement the laws of the land, so here we are today, Speaker Ryan and my colleagues on the House side -- on the Republican side, will force this House to vote on a resolution authorizing the House to file a similar type of amicus brief, albeit in this case opposing the President's position in the case of U.S. vs. Texas, but there's a big difference between the brief that was filed by 186 members of this House and 39 members in the Senate and what the Republican majority in the House is intending to do today.”

“There’s a big difference: They are looking to use taxpayer money to push forward their partisan agenda and their position in this case of U.S. vs. Texas. They are injecting every American who pays taxes into this fight, even though most Americans support a comprehensive fix to our immigration system.”

“Why would we want to use taxpayer dollars to go litigate? These days, it seems that my Republican colleagues in Congress spend more time and taxpayer money filing partisan lawsuits and legal briefs than working to pass the country's must-do legislation. We've got a budget to do, we should be passing jobs legislation, and yes, we should be fixing a broken immigration system by passing comprehensive immigration reform.”

“Most Americans know through their high school civics classes that the Constitution vests in congress the power to make or change any law without having to hope or wait for the Supreme Court to bail out Congress for not doing its work, in fact, today Speaker Ryan said, and I quote “the legislative branch of government needs to be the branch making our laws, not the executive.”. He's absolutely right, so rather than doing legislation to file a lawsuit, let's do our job, which is to make the laws.”

“This Republican Congress unfortunately is completely out of step with the interests and expectations of the American people. It’s time to legislate, not to litigate.”

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Gutiérrez Delivers Fiery Speech Denouncing GOP Anti-Immigration Resolution

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) spoke during debate on a partisan vote in support of mass deportation and a resolution to authorize a “Friend of the Court” brief against the United States in a case on immigration to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court next month. It was a remarkably fiery address.

A video of the Congressman’s speech is here: https://cs.pn/1Mpqt03

The Congressman’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are pasted below (but his actual remarks diverge significantly at times).

Immigration Remarks

As Prepared for Delivery

Why does the Majority Party not just say what they want? They want millions of immigrants deported.

Out on the campaign trail on immigration we get lies and demagoguery from Republicans – plural.

The debate has sunk to a level where people are actually throwing punches and worse.

Two refugees from Southeast Asia and one gentleman from Puerto Rico were shot and killed in front of their children in Milwaukee because apparently, the gunman didn’t like that they spoke with an accent.

The gunman reportedly said to the Puerto Ricans “You have got to go,” before he shot and killed the father of a teenaged son.

Two students, a Muslim and a Latino, were attacked by a man who they encountered when he was beating an African-American man in Kansas this week. When he turned to them he shouted racist threats and said Trump would win and they would have to go.

And the punches, the shoving, the shouts of “Go back to Africa,” the Hitler salutes -- it is all becoming more than we ever expected and yet, that is the reality we see in 2016.

And now, the Republicans in the House are stoking anti-immigrant fears and mass deportation fantasies some more.

No, they are not leading. They are not calling for calmer rhetoric – let alone more rational policies.

They are playing politics with immigrants, plain and simple.

If Republicans are so secure in the validity of their arguments, they should write the brief and submit it to the Supreme Court, just as 225 Democrats did last week. And as dozens of business leaders and state and local legislators and Mayors have done.

The vote is a political stunt disguised as a legal brief because the Republican Majority sees a crass political opportunity to stand with the anti-immigration wing of their party.

I guess the Speaker thinks, hey, why play it straight when you can force a purely political vote on immigration designed to deepen the partisan lines and validate angry voters.

Rep. Gutiérrez represents the Fourth District of Illinois, is a Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is a Member of the House Judiciary Committee and is the Co-Chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. An op-ed related to immigration and the Supreme Court ran in the Boston Globe on Feb. 25: GOP politics of exclusion all but guarantee a Democratic decade.

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CONGRESSMAN RUBÉN HINOJOSA: WE MUST STOP THE REPUBLICAN’S CRUSADE AGAINST IMMIGRANT FAMILIES

Washington, D.C. – Today – Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) stated the following in response to H.R. 639, Speaker Paul Ryan’s Anti-Immigrant Amicus Brief Resolution:

“Speaker Ryan presented to the House floor today a partisan anti-immigrant resolution that would give him the power to file, on behalf of the full House, an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in response to the United States v Texas case. What makes matters worse is that no member of the House has actually seen the resolution. The American people deserve to know what the House GOP is planning to say in the brief. Today’s vote is another attack on the Latino community. I stand against this action.

“House Democrats must have the opportunity to vote on an alternative amicus brief in support of the President’s executive actions on immigration – actions that fall within the legal and constitutional precedent established by every Administration, Republican and Democrat, since President Eisenhower. In fact, many of my House and Senate colleagues and I (a total of 225) filed an amicus brief in support of President Obama’s executive actions to expand DACA and create DAPA, both of which will keep immigrant families together, to the U.S. Supreme Court last week.

“It is important to fix our broken immigration system, not tear families apart or deport young DREAMERs. Now is the time for House Republicans to join Democrats in being united for opportunity for all hard-working families in the U.S. We must stand against radical, anti-immigrant rhetoric set forth by Republicans.”

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Grijalva Slams GOP Interference With Immigration Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) released a statement today after House Republicans approved a partisan resolution authorizing Speaker Paul Ryan to appear as amicus curiae on behalf of the House of Representatives in the Supreme Court case U.S. v. Texas concerning President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

In November 2014, President Obama announced Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs. In February 2015, a federal district court in Texas issued an injunction against the executive orders, placing their implementation on hold and preventing them from helping millions of people.

“This Republican ploy to align the prestige of the House of Representatives behind a partisan lawsuit to stop DACA and DAPA is as shameful as it is deceitful,” Rep. Grijalva said. “While Speaker Ryan may have cobbled enough votes together for the motion to pass, the House is far from united behind this scheme. We must recognize that partisan efforts to undermine President Obama’s rightful authorities do more than harm this president’s ability to perform his duties – they chip away at the institution of the presidency itself. There is a good reason this vote is unprecedented: no Congress in history has shown this much lack of respect or foresight in their actions.

“The sad truth is we are harming our own friends, neighbors and loved ones by allowing families to be splintered apart. There is no place in a nation made great by immigrants for a political party that increasingly relies on nativist and racist sentiments to build its support. The vote cast today is proof to the American people that there is no real difference between the mindset of Republican legislators and the mindset of the Republican front runner right now.”

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Luján Statement on Speaker Ryan’s Anti-Immigrant Amicus Brief Resolution

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District released the following statement today after voting against a resolution that gives House Speaker Paul Ryan the power to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of the full House of Representatives in support a lawsuit seeking to stop President Obama’s executive actions on the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the creation of DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of American Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents).

“Thanks to the President’s executive actions, 9,000 DREAMers in New Mexico – young people who were brought to our county as children and are contributing to our communities – have not had to live in fear of deportation. With this vote today, House Republicans are doing their best to channel Donald Trump with a mean-spirited attack on the immigrant community and put DREAMers and their families at risk of being torn apart.

“It’s disappointing but not surprising that House Republicans are continuing to demonize immigrants rather than bringing to the floor comprehensive immigration reform – policy that is good for our economy, our national security, and recognizes the contributions immigrants make to our country every day.”

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