E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2018 No. 106 House of Representatives The House met at noon and was voice, reminding your colleagues, even dered a week ago are in the system, called to order by the Speaker pro tem- if Donald Trump doesn’t recognize the why can’t we tell parents where their pore (Mr. ARRINGTON). Fifth Amendment, that under the Con- most precious possession, their chil- f stitution, nobody is denied of life, lib- dren, are—and the notion that some erty, or property without due process are walking away from detention fa- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO of law. cilities. TEMPORE There are over 300 other Republicans The Trump administration is talking The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- in the House and Senate, and I hope about reorganizing essential govern- fore the House the following commu- America hears from them. And Demo- ment departments. Maybe if they want nication from the Speaker: crats should welcome a contest of ideas to do that, they ought to start with the and a contest at the ballot box, not Immigration and Customs Enforce- WASHINGTON, DC, ment. They ought to start with the De- June 25, 2018. shouting at restaurants. I hereby appoint the Honorable JODEY C. It is important that we don’t lose partment of Homeland Security and ARRINGTON to act as Speaker pro tempore on sight of the bigger picture. There is a the Department of Health and Human this day. reason that tens of thousands of people Services, all of the agencies that are a PAUL D. RYAN, have come to the southern border: the part of this embarrassing spectacle, to Speaker of the House of Representatives. chaos and violence in parts of Mexico, figure out how to do it right, how to do f especially Central America, and the vi- it humanely, in an open and trans- parent fashion, and stop the notion MORNING-HOUR DEBATE olence especially strong in the triangle of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Sal- that somehow there will be zero toler- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- vador. ance; that we will separate children ant to the order of the House of Janu- The United States is not an entirely from their families at the borders; and ary 8, 2018, the Chair will now recog- innocent bystander there. We have sup- we will criminalize people who are nize Members from lists submitted by ported repressive dictators in those seeking asylum. the majority and minority leaders for countries in the 1980s, and we have Let’s stop this malignant policy. morning-hour debate. been meddling in their affairs for gen- Let’s get children back to their par- The Chair will alternate recognition erations. ents. Let’s elevate the discourse re- between the parties. All time shall be It is the lucrative American drug spectfully, but forcefully battle ideas equally allocated between the parties, market that has fueled the drug trade and support the vulnerable. It is not merely a question of justice and in no event shall debate continue and gang activity. Part of our failed for immigrant children, but of justice beyond 1:50 p.m. Each Member, other drug policies have destabilized the and integrity of all Americans. than the majority and minority leaders lives of millions. The immense profits and the minority whip, shall be limited from the American drug trade drives f to 5 minutes. that activity to the borders, corrupts TIME TO TACKLE THE DILEMMA f governments, and has created a situa- OF IMMIGRATION tion where we cannot even keep drugs IMMIGRANT CHILDREN The SPEAKER pro tempore. The and cell phones out of American pris- Chair recognizes the gentleman from The SPEAKER pro tempore. The ons. Michigan (Mr. MITCHELL) for 5 minutes. Chair recognizes the gentleman from What is the answer? I would suggest Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, ‘‘Un- Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- that it is not to deny people fearing for less someone like you cares a whole utes. their lives a right to prove their case awful lot, nothing is going to get bet- Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as as refugees seeking asylum. The an- ter. It’s not.’’ we recover from the chaos emanating swer is not to hold children hostages in For those who are not familiar with from the White House and the tweeter- a macabre, hateful drama that is a the insights of Dr. Seuss, that quote in-chief last week, it is important to shame on all Americans. concludes ‘‘The Lorax.’’ You see, when recognize children are not invaders. The answer is not to forcibly take I got home on Friday night, my 8-year- Children must not be used as political children out of the arms of their moth- old wanted to watch a move with dad. pawns for reckless immigration en- er, and then lose them in the system. I We watched ‘‘The Lorax’’ with him forcement policy. mean, wait a minute. If the Postal belly laughing at some of the scenes I thank JUSTIN AMASH for being a Service and UPS can tell you where the and me just enjoying him curled up be- lonely, but principled Republican sweat socks and the razors that you or- side me, happy to be together at home. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H5583 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jun 26, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A25JN7.000 H25JNPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with HOUSE H5584 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 25, 2018 Playing through my mind also—as it There is no answer to these issues from their homes to provide to chil- has for some time—was our collective that is perfect, in the view of myself dren, and oftentimes run to McDon- struggle with legal immigration and and many, because we are in a rep- ald’s and other restaurants to get food our Nation’s struggle with addressing resentative democracy. I don’t believe for hungry kids who had a very long, this problem. perfect exists in the world. dangerous journey. For anyone wondering if I did not see I spent 35 years in a private business. No one is denying that the situation or feel the real painful events of sepa- I don’t think I ever saw perfect. My on our Nation’s border is terrible, and rating children from their parents at spouse and children will tell you I am our agents at the border see this trag- the border last week, as I curled up far from their definition of perfect. I edy daily. Seeing this for myself first- with my little guy, know that I did. I came here to address our Nation’s chal- hand, I quickly realized, there is no felt it to my soul. You see, my 8-year- lenges and take those tough votes glad- perfect fix. But it is imperative that we old son is also an immigrant. My wife ly because I want to make a difference. recognize and honor our Border Patrol and I adopted him from Russia just be- I chatted with a more senior member agents’ hard work, and do our part in fore Vladimir Putin slammed the door at the airport Friday who commented Congress to pass compassionate, com- shut for other children who could des- that only 100 or 150 Members of this prehensive immigration reform that perately use a loving home in America. body are prepared to truly work on still secures our borders and helps al- We had to come home after adoption solving this problem, to compromise, leviate the situation of crisis which was granted and wait out an appeal pe- and take a tough vote on immigration. now exists. riod. We had to leave our son behind Some believe their idea is the only f and then go back and get him weeks approach. Some have election fears. later. So I understand the problem well Some want to message on this issue at AMERICA IS A NATION OF LAWS and what is at stake. elections. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. America has struggled with this issue Less than 12,000 individuals have ever MITCHELL). The Chair recognizes the since our creation. We are a Nation of served in the House of Representatives. gentleman from Texas (Mr. ARRINGTON) immigrants. My ancestors arrived in To all with the honor and responsi- for 5 minutes. America during the Irish potato fam- bility of being in this Chamber, I say, Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, some ine. We can’t ignore immigration, both now is the time to step up, work on of the political rhetoric and political illegal and legal, any longer. The issue this issue, compromise, tackle the di- opportunism is at an all-time high of surrounds us every day, especially if lemma, and then take a vote to move it ridiculous on this issue of immigration. you live in border communities, areas forward to a better place. Let’s take a step back and let’s think of large immigrant populations—legal Because, again: ‘‘Unless someone like through this, and let us reason to- and illegal—or resort communities or you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is gether as Americans.