[Congressional Record: April 24, 2008 (House)]
[Page H2742-H2743]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr24ap08-147]


HOMELAND SECURITY

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about
the issues of homeland security and ask my colleagues to reflect upon
the legislation, historic legislation that we have just passed
regarding the U.S. Coast Guard. We have added enough new Coast Guard to
raise the number to 47,000 members of the U.S. Coast Guard. That is
something to applaud.
We have provided an opportunity for securing our LNG, liquid natural
gas, in the number of ports around America where surrounding
communities exist. We have created a format to secure our waterways
where the U.S. Coast Guard is involved. We have provided for an
enhanced expedited process for securing what we call TWIC cards. These
are documentation for port workers to have after September 25, 2008.
Today I rise to offer a resolution that will acknowledge the
Transportation Security Administration addressing the question of
security as relates to our transportation security that would mandate
the implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of
2007 that enhances security against terrorist attack and other security
threats to our Nation's rail and mass transit.
I am doing this along with a number of Members, including Chairman
Bennie Thompson of the full committee. It is important to note that
transportation systems are systems that have been under attack,
particularly mass transit, and I believe it is important to encourage
TSA to continue to developed the National Explosive Detection Canine
Team Program which is supported in a bipartisan manner, one that I have
seen work and has been very effective to improve the success of the
Online Learning Center by providing increased person-to-person
professional development programs to ensure those responsible for
securing against terrorist attacks on our transportation systems are
highly trained and to continue to serve our Nation's mass transit and
rail systems against terrorist attack and other security threats so as
to ensure the safety of our commuters on our Nation's mass transit.
This is a resolution to encourage the TSA to improve their work
product, to thank them for the work product that they are doing, but
also to encourage them to work diligently in compliance with the new
legislation that we just passed.
I also want to speak to the phenomenon that is being used across
America called ICE raids. I am very well aware that the Secretary of
Homeland Security believes that he has been forced to use a new tactic
in immigration reform because this Congress has not been able to shed
itself of obstacles of bias and disagreement, to get into a room and
truly provide for comprehensive reform of the immigration system,
something I have worked on for 6 years.
I appreciate the leadership from both sides of the aisle with their
different perspectives. I am delighted to serve on the Judiciary
Committee with John Conyers and Zoe Lofgren, who have been champions of
this reform process, along with Bennie Thompson and Loretta Sanchez on
Homeland Security.
But we cannot stand by and allow our immigration system to be formed
by massive raids on individuals who are here only to work. My fear is
that a potential violent act may occur out of fear and apprehension. So
I believe it is important for the administration, the White House, to
stand up and be counted, to go to the bully pulpit and insist on a
comprehensive response to immigration, not the raiding of Shipley's Do-
Nuts, so that people in an apartment building are jumping out of
apartment building windows out of fear. You are not going to deport 12
million people. Get a life. It is important to know who everyone is,
and I want to make sure that we do so.
I want it to be known that I stand against random ICE raids. I am not
against immigration reform in a right way. I am not for illegal
immigration. But I will tell you it will not work. It will be deadly
and it will be devastating. It is important for employers to hire
documented workers and be under the eye of the law, and we should
enforce this idea of making sure people are documented. But it's up to the government to get a system that works so that we
can give documentation to individuals who are here simply to work, and we can weed out the terrorists.
People who are working at Shipley's Do-Nuts, people who are in hotels
and restaurants, who are not taking American jobs, are doing the work
that this Nation needs.
We need to hire Americans first. But we cannot, by a raid, end the
immigration crisis. We need to fix it, and we need to fix it now.
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