[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CLARIFYING A SPEECH FROM MARCH 17, 2016

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. JARED POLIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 10, 2018

  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, on March 17, 2016, during the 114th Congress, 
I intended to say:
  ``Mr. Speaker, today there are a lot of legal arguments and talk. I 
want to make sure the American people listening at home and watching at 
home know exactly what we are talking about here today.
  ``I want to talk about somebody whose life is on pause, waiting for 
the DAPA program to clear the courts. The brief that the Republicans 
are seeking to file is the exact opposite. It is saying that DAPA 
cannot occur. And this gentleman and his family, several of whom are 
Colorado constituents of mine--just to put a human face on it--show 
what DAPA means for so many families across our country.
  ``Mr. Edin Ramos of Colorado--he is pictured there next to his three 
lovely kids and his wife--is a native of Honduras. He has been in the 
United States for over 13 years. His kids are American citizens, were 
born here, don't know any other country. He fled his home country to 
avoid persecution and extortion at the hands of local, corrupt 
officials and gangs.
  ``He is married to a U.S. citizen. They have three young children 
together. He is a very successful business owner in Colorado. He and 
his wife employ 12 people. They make investments in their local 
community. Many rely on them for jobs, for the services they provide. 
Yet, the lack of any peace of mind prevents families like Edin Ramos' 
from reaching their full potential.
  ``Every day his kids come home from school, and his wife worries over 
something as minor as a taillight being out or a speeding ticket, that 
Mr. Ramos could find himself in detention for an indefinite period of 
time, removed from his family, or even deported to another country 
which he doesn't have any ties to.
  ``I would also like to talk about the case of Ms. Mercedes Garcia. 
Mercedes is a long-time resident of my hometown, Boulder, Colorado. Her 
life has been greatly affected by the arbitrariness of an immigration 
system that is immoral and has lacked meaningful priorities.
  ``She has been in the United States for close to 20 years. She is the 
mother of three American children, U.S. citizen children. But you know 
what happened? Her husband was removed from the United States in 2011 
over a traffic citation, forcing her to be the sole provider for her 
three children.
  ``Now, Mercedes is undocumented herself, and she fears contact by 
immigration authorities on a daily basis. DAPA was a ray of hope for 
her. What DAPA would do is provide Mercedes with a meaningful level of 
certainty, the ability to legally seek employment, the ability to 
provide her family with expanded opportunities here in the U.S., and 
would help make her American citizen children as successful as they are 
able to be.
  ``Her children are just as American as you or me, Mr. Speaker, as is 
anyone born in the United States. Don't they deserve to have their 
mother help them succeed with all the great promises that this country 
offers? Why can't we give that certainty to their mother?
  ``DAPA is a legal, commonsense, lawful exercise of discretion. It is 
consistent with the actions of Presidents, both Democratic and 
Republican, for decades. It directs, very simply, with the limited 
amount of enforcement resources we have in the Department of Homeland 
Security, that we want to focus on removing undocumented immigrants who 
pose a threat to public safety or national security--not Mr. Ramos, not 
Ms. Garcia. We want to remove those who represent a danger or a threat 
to our country.
  ``To somehow misfocus those limited resources on tearing apart 
families instead of going after criminals would put the American people 
at risk. The President has acted to make the American people safer by 
ensuring that our limited law enforcement resources are focused where 
they will have the biggest impact.
  ``These policies are very simple. They create a process for low-
priority enforcement immigrants who come forward, submit to a 
background check, register, be able to get a provisional work permit, 
and work legally. It enhances our public safety and national security.
  ``Yet we hear people from the other side saying: Well, this is 
something Congress should have done. I agree. This is something 
Congress should have done. You know what? It is not my fault Congress 
didn't do it.
  ``I have talked about immigration every week and every month here on 
floor of the House. I cosponsored a comprehensive bill. I signed a 
discharge petition last Congress to try to bring it forward. Yes, I 
agree.
  ``You know what? Congress didn't do it, Mr. Speaker. And that is on 
the Republican majority that Congress failed to act.
  ``So the President moved forward with the legal authority he has and 
that Republican and Democratic Presidents in the past have used to say 
that Ms. Garcia is not the same risk to this country as a dangerous 
criminal.
  ``It is common sense, and it is about time that we move forward with 
and DACA.
  ``I reserve the balance of my time.''

                          ____________________