April 17, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H3441 They claim that they are not pros- THE FARM LABOR RECRUITMENT ploited is a continental sacrilege. The ecuting drug cases because they are SYSTEM problem with NAFTA and NAFTA- prosecuting folks that illegally enter The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a style trade agreements is they fail to the United States. But maybe that is previous order of the House, the gentle- take people into account. not true either. These same memos woman from Ohio (Ms. KAPTUR) is rec- NAFTA and NAFTA-style agree- now reveal that in the State of Texas ognized for 5 minutes. ments serve the interests primarily of an illegal coming into the United Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, on April the money classes. They reduce risks States has to be captured six times be- 9, 2007, 29-year-old Toledoan, Santiago for Wall Street investors while raising fore they are actually prosecuted Raphael Cruz, was found bound, gagged the risk that workers in our heartland criminally for being in the United and beaten to death in Monterrey, will lose their jobs and health care. States. Mexico, in the office of his employer, They are manna for hedge funds, but a What happens is if they are caught the Toledo-based Farm Labor Orga- threat to the economic security of blue the first six times, they are just taken nizing Committee, or FLOC. collar workers. home. Of course, they come right back Mr. Cruz moved from Toledo, Ohio, to b 1930 to the United States. They are not Mexico 3 months ago to legally arrange being prosecuted. In Arizona, some- for Mexican guest laborers to work for They leave people out of the ques- times it is up to 11 times illegals enter a North Carolina pickle plant with tion. Whether it is campesinos in Mex- the United States before they are which FLOC has a contract. FLOC’s ef- ico trying to provide food for their criminally prosecuted for being here il- forts assured guest workers were treat- families and eke out an existence legally. ed humanely, that their papers were taken from them by their own govern- So what is the Federal Government legal, and that the notorious crime-rid- ment in cahoots with ours through doing? Well, we do know they are den labor recruitment system that NAFTA, or auto workers in the Mid- spending a lot of their time pros- characterizes farm labor on this con- west pursuing the American dream of a ecuting border protectors. They are tinent would cease to exist. house, a car, and a better life for their spending a lot of taxpayer money to FLOC, which is part of the AFL–CIO, children, they are the forgotten people make deals, back-room deals with drug is a farm labor union and social move- in our global economy. smugglers so that they can prosecute ment based in our district led by As Mr. Velasquez noted, Mr. Cruz had the likes of border agents Ramos and Baldemar Velasquez. FLOC is perhaps a good heart and was working for the Compean, deputy sheriffs like Gilmer most recently known for achieving a people. Mr. Cruz gave his life in service Hernandez, individuals who are enforc- fair labor contract for guest workers in to the forgotten people. We honor his ing the law. the United States with H2A visas in commitment and we extend our sym- The Federal Government’s duty is to North Carolina. Mr. Velasquez led that pathies to his family, to his friends, protect the dignity of this Nation. It campaign, as well as one to organize and to the entire FLOC community of needs to protect the border from every- pickle workers in Ohio in the 1980s, and which our community is so very proud. body coming into the United States il- has been recognized as a MacArthur His horrific death reminds us how legally, no matter the reason, but espe- Foundation fellow. brutal and unforgiving the NAFTA-in- cially those people who are criminals, In Mexico, FLOC offered a safe, legal duced labor system has become across especially those drug smugglers who alternative to the exploitative prom- our continent. It is time to renegotiate bring drugs into the United States and ises of coyotes and those who charge NAFTA. It is time not to extend it fur- make a profit off of that human weak- exorbitant fees to smuggle Mexicans ther. It is time to require continental ness, and now giving them a pass, be- across the border. The union had been labor standards that uphold the dignity cause they are not bringing in enough burglarized, and the workers harassed of human life, not extinguish it. dope? This is absurd. Not prosecuting for their efforts to protect Mexicans Mr. Speaker, I submit extraneous illegals until the sixth or eleventh wishing to work in our country. material for printing in the RECORD, time because we don’t supposedly have I learned, as I learned more about and I thank my colleague from Wash- the resources is absurd, and it is all be- Mr. Cruz’s brutal murder, I asked my- ington for allowing me to speak. cause we don’t protect the dignity of self whether this horrendous crime [From the toledoblade.com, April 12, 2007] the United States. could have been encouraged by FLOC’s U.S. DEMANDS PROBE OF SLAYING Border control in this country noble efforts to stop the illegal traf- (By Clyde Hughes) doesn’t seem to even exist. Third World ficking and continental labor caused by The U.S. General Consulate Office in Mex- nations protect their borders better NAFTA. I have called upon the govern- ico is pressing for a complete investigation than the United States, and the United ments of the United States and Mexico in the beating death of a Toledo union work- States protects the borders of other na- to fully investigate and bring the per- er found dead early Monday at the union’s tions like Korea. Why don’t we protect petrators of this horrendous crime to office in Monterrey, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur our own border? justice. These coyotes prey upon des- (D., Toledo) said yesterday. While all of this is going on down perate Mexican workers whose lands Law enforcement officials from the state there on the lawless border of the were taken from them by the Mexican of Nuevo Leon are investigating the death of United States and Mexico, now we hear Santiago Rafael Cruz, 29, a Mexican native Government under NAFTA. NAFTA set who has lived in Toledo since 1998 and had about a new reform package, a com- up conditions in North America for worked for the Farm Labor Organizing Com- prehensive immigration plan that is cruel exploitation of millions of land- mittee as manager of its Monterrey office for supposed to have little border security, less peasants and workers in Mexico. three months, said Baldemar Velasquez, supposed to have a lot of amnesty and Mr. Velasquez and FLOC worked end- longtime president of the union. supposed to have a whole lot more lessly to give people not only legal Mr. Velasquez said he believed Mr. Cruz’s guest workers in the United States. rights but hope for an end to the harsh death is directly related to FLOC’s efforts to That is not going to work. treatment handed to them by the gov- organize workers in the Monterrey area. What we need is the National Guard He said the union’s education efforts made ernments of the United States and of workers there less susceptible to people who on the border. We need to protect the Mexico. The current and often illegal would charge workers large sums of money borders, the dignity of the United labor recruitment system is rife with to enter the United States illegally. States. corruption. It exploits landless peas- FLOC’s program there recruits Mexican And that’s just the way it is. ants through a corrupt bounty system residents interested in going to the United f imposed by unsavory labor recruiters. States as part of a guest-worker program The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a Many times I have said NAFTA fuels through a contract the union has with a previous order of the House, the gen- illegal immigration by creating an exo- North Carolina pickle company, union offi- dus of massive proportion of people cials said. tleman from Maryland (Mr. WYNN) is Mr. Cruz was bound, gagged, and beaten, recognized for 5 minutes. from the Mexican countryside who Miss Kaptur said yesterday. (Mr. WYNN addressed the House. His need something to eat after their live- She said she talked with Edward Heartney, remarks will appear hereafter in the lihoods are taken from them. The man- consul for politics and economic affairs with Extensions of Remarks.) ner in which these people are being ex- the U.S. consulate general in Monterrey,

VerDate Aug 31 2005 04:18 Apr 18, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K17AP7.084 H17APPT1 ccoleman on PRODPC74 with HOUSE H3442 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 17, 2007 who assured her he’d press the Mexican gov- government charged with deciding More good things may come of it ernment for a thorough investigation and whether to declare war. It wrongly and than anyone can imagine. Consider our offer the assistance of the FBI. unconstitutionally transferred this relationship with Vietnam, now our Miss Kaptur said she also could call for a power to the President, and the Presi- friendly trading partner. Certainly we special investigation, which is allowed through the North American Free Trade dent did not hesitate to use it. are doing better with her than when we Agreement, which would engage the labor Although it is clear there was no tried to impose our will by force. departments of both the United States and cause for war, we just marched in. Our It is time to march out of Iraq and Mexico. leaders deceived themselves and the come home. She said the investigation provision in public with assurances that the war f NAFTA, though, does not provide for sanc- was righteous and would be over quick- SITUATION IN IRAQ tions. ly. Their justifications were false, and ‘‘Right now, they need to do the basic po- they failed to grasp even basic facts The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a licing work,’’ Miss Kaptur said. ‘‘Our govern- previous order of the House, the gentle- ment is engaged and I wanted [Mr. about the chaotic, political, and reli- Heartney’s] assurance on that. You see how gious history of the region. woman from Texas (Ms. JACKSON-LEE) NAFTA is contributing to this endless Congress bears the greater blame for is recognized for 5 minutes. stream of people who are so vulnerable to ex- this fiasco. It reneged on its responsi- Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. ploitation. bility to declare or not declare war. It Speaker, before I begin I would like to ‘‘There are no worker protections under transferred this decision-making power just have a moment of silence for the NAFTA. When [FLOC] does try to take the to the executive branch and gave open fallen students of Virginia Tech and illegality out of what’s going on there, this sanction to anything the President did. our colleagues, who were with them sort of horrendous tragedy occurs. It will be today, the people of Virginia, and the taken note of on a national level here.’’ In fact, the Founders diligently tried Mr. Velasquez said his union workers have to prevent the executive from pos- people of the United States of America. been harassed there before for organizing sessing this power, granting it to Con- Thank you. workers and helping them obtain legal docu- gress alone in article I, section 8, of the As I begin this 5 minutes, I believe it ments to work in the United States. Constitution. will be the challenge of this body to He said he believes that people running il- Today, just about everyone acknowl- find a way to confront the issue of vio- legal operations to move Mexicans into the edges the war has gone badly, and 70 lence through physical acts and vio- United States see FLOC as a threat. percent of the American people want it lence through words. Many of us will ‘‘We’re actually fighting the corruption propose new gun legislation, some of us that’s prevalent in this area,’’ Mr. Velasquez to end. Our national defense is weak- said via phone call from Monterrey. ‘‘There’s ened, the financial costs continue to will look to outreach, but we will also been 10 policemen killed here in the last drain us, our allies have deserted us, seek understanding. That under- year. We’ve educated the workers not to be and our enemies are multiplying, not standing I think leads me to join with taken advantage of and some people here to mention the tragic toll of death and the Chairwoman of the Congressional don’t like that, but we have to carry on the injuries suffered by American forces. Black Caucus as I acknowledge the work.’’ Iraq is a mess, and we urgently need outstanding women of the Rutgers Uni- Mr. Velasquez said Mr. Cruz’s body will be a new direction. But our leaders offer versity basketball team, to thank them returned to Puebla, Mexico, where the ma- for their dignity, their diplomacy, and jority of his family is located, for a funeral. only hand-wringing and platitudes. He said arrangements for the funeral have They have no clear-cut ideas to end the their excellence; and to speak, just a not been made yet. suffering and war. Even the most ar- very short brief word, of my agreement He said Mr. Cruz’s work with FLOC, which dent war hawks cannot begin to define with the final action on Imus and his dates to his arrival to Toledo in 1998, made a victory in Iraq. unfortunate and destructive words. difference in the union. As an Air Force officer, serving from Many of the first amendment advo- ‘‘He had a heart for the people,’’ Mr. 1963 to 1968, I heard the same agonizing cates, of which I happen to be one, are Velasquez said. ‘‘He spent his extra time con- pleas from the American people. These up in arms. Many have said the punish- sulting people, teaching them how not to get ment was too harsh. But I use the age- cheated and ripped off by phony promises by pleas were met with the same excuses people who said they could get papers for un- about why we could not change a deep- old teaching tool for those of us in con- documented folks, and he would explain any ly flawed policy and rethink the war in stitutional law classes around the Na- proposals out there for immigration reform. Vietnam. That bloody conflict, also tion. And though the first amendment ‘‘Basically, he wouldn’t allow people to be undeclared and unconstitutional, is pure, the right to association, the duped by other people wanting to take ad- seems to have taught us little despite freedom of religion is pure, but it is vantage of people’s ignorance. He was very the horrific costs. qualified by the Supreme Court that effective at that.’’ Once again, though everyone now ac- indicates that we cannot call ‘‘fire’’ in Mr. Velasquez and Miss Kaptur said the murder investigation is still in the early cepts that the original justifications a crowded theater. And so it is obvious stages and both said they plan on following for invading Iraq were not legitimate, that unfortunately what Imus did with the results closely. we are given excuses for not leaving. these words, these women athletes, f We flaunt our power by building per- these academically excellent students manent military bases and an enor- is that they cried ‘‘fire.’’ And fire can- WE JUST MARCHED IN (SO WE CAN mous billion-dollar embassy, yet claim not be allowed to burn, and the fire had JUST MARCH OUT) we have no plans to stay in Iraq perma- to be extinguished, and Imus and his The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a nently. Assurances that our presence ugly words had to be taken off of the previous order of the House, the gen- in Iraq has nothing to do with oil are public airwaves, wishing him well for tleman from Texas (Mr. PAUL) is recog- not believed in the Middle East. The hopefully a reformation and a rebirth nized for 5 minutes. argument for staying to prevent civil so that young people all around Amer- Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, all the rea- war and bring stability to the region ica can, one, not be subjected to the vi- sons given to justify a preemptive logically falls on deaf ears. olence of words, and they cannot be strike against Iraq were wrong. Con- If the justifications for war were subjected to the brutality, the violence gress and the American people were wrong, if the war is going badly, if we of guns. misled. can’t afford the costs, both human and Let me move, Mr. Speaker, quickly Support for the war came from var- economic, if civil war and chaos have to an additional cause for my standing ious special interests that had agitated resulted from our occupation, if the here today. And that is to salute my for an invasion of Iraq since 1998. The reasons for staying are not more cred- colleague, Congresswoman LYNN WOOL- Iraq Liberation Act passed by Congress ible than the reasons for going, then SEY, who tonight will give her 200th and signed into law by President Clin- why the dilemma? The American peo- statement in opposition to the war in ton stated that getting rid of Saddam ple have spoken and continue to speak Iraq. I join her today, sadly, because Hussein was official U.S. policy. This out against the war, so why not end it? again young people, valiant, patriotic policy was carried out in 2003. How do we end it? Why not exactly young people are on the front lines of Congress failed miserably in meeting the way we went in? We marched in Iraq. They have not protested, they its crucial obligations as the branch of and we can march out. have not said, I will not go, but they

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