“We Are Here To Stay and We Stand Together”

Washington, DC – Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) spoke on the House floor this morning about immigration, the Trump Administration and a series of pro-immigrant events taking place in Washington and around the country on or about January 14.  The Congressman said while the new President himself is “a bit of an unknown because he changes his mind on some key issues about as quickly as his Twitter feed refreshes…it is Trump’s lieutenants who worry most of us.”  He said of Trump’s advisors:

They are the most clearly ideological and dangerous set of leaders ever assembled in American government on immigration and any number of issues we may care about.  There is a vindictiveness coming to government—the likes of which we have never seen.  The truth is that among the new President’s key advisors are some of the staunchest opponents of legal immigration.

Because most Americans favor legal immigration and want the Congress to reform immigration to allow people with deep roots in the U.S. to live here legally, the Congressman is joining with advocates and allies who are holding a series of events around the country (details at www.togetherforimmigrants.com), including an event on Saturday, Jan 14 in Washington, DC, at which the Congressman is speaking (There is also an event at the Chicago Teachers Union on Saturday).  He said:

Leaders of the immigrant rights’ movement will stand alongside elected officials, faith, labor, education and LGBTQ leaders to say we will not allow mass deportation or immigrant round-ups; That we do not want endless delays that keep families waiting 10, 15 and 20 years for visas; […] That we are committed to defending immigrant communities if and when the new President and his henchmen develop Muslim registries or neighborhood sweeps or mass round-ups disguised as quote-unquote “fugitive sweeps;” We will fight attempts to criminalize immigrants and fight attempts to take away documents from people who are now in the system and working on the books, like the 750,000 young people who signed up for DACA.

He went on to say:

Let’s just be clear, 76% of the Latinos in this country are citizens.  So three-quarters of us can vote or will soon be able to vote – and for those under 18, the percentage of Latinos who are citizens is 93%.  So don’t think you can deport us into silence.  Don’t think that deporting everyone and eliminating legal immigration – as some in the new President’s circle may fantasize – will suddenly make brown people disappear.  We are here.  We are joined by our allies of every color, shape, national origin, and segment of society.

Information on the Washington, DC event, Saturday, January 14 at Metropolitan AME Church: http://bit.ly/2ijLJi4

The full text of the Congressman’s speech is below.  A video from the House floor is here: https://youtu.be/pBSZ4ZMkrcA

Rep. Gutiérrez is beginning his 13th term representing the Fourth District of Illinois.  He is a Member of the Judiciary Committee and is the Co-Chair of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Floor Remarks (As Prepared for Delivery)

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, we hope for the best from the new President, but we must prepare for the worst.

Everyone who has looked at the record of key advisors to President-elect Trump on the issue of immigration has reason for very deep concern that the new President is going to follow the advice of some of the most extreme voices in the immigration debate.

As for the new President himself, he is a bit of an unknown because he changes his mind on some key issues about as quickly as his Twitter feed refreshes.  He says he has a plan for this and a plan for that, but they are secret plans and as far as we know, they are secrets even to himself. 

He knows more about computers and the Internet, ISIS and terrorists, Russia and NATO than all of the policy experts put together and he thinks of himself as the ultimate presidential advisor to the new president.

But it is Trump’s lieutenants who worry most of us.  They are the most clearly ideological and dangerous set of leaders ever assembled in American government on immigration and any number of issues we may care about.  There is a vindictiveness coming to government—the likes of which we have never seen.

The truth is that among the new President’s key advisors are some of the staunchest opponents of legal immigration. 

That’s right.  While we all oppose illegal immigration and some of us have been working for years to upgrade the American system so that immigrants come with visas instead of smugglers, the people with access to the President’s ear disagree and don’t want immigrants to come at all. 

Look, we have made legal immigration extremely difficult for everyone and simply impossible for most people – and then we have been relying on deportation, walls, enforcement, and curtailing due process rights for immigrants – and that constitutes their immigration control strategy for the past 25 years.  And it hasn’t worked for 25 years.

But the American people want a humane, sustainable, secure, and effective legal immigration system and a way for people who already live and work here peacefully to be able to do so within the law.

So, Mr. Speaker, this is why I will join a few thousand allies here in Washington on Saturday at the historic Metropolitan AME Church on “M” Street to send a clear message that immigrants and their allies are standing up for immigrant communities. 

And check out the website.  The DC rally will be one of more than 50 public actions and marches across America on or about January 14th where leaders of the immigrant rights’ movement will stand alongside elected officials, faith, labor, education and LGBTQ leaders to say we will not allow mass deportation or immigrant round-ups…

• That we do not want endless delays that keep families waiting 10, 15 and 20 years for visas. 
• That we do not want people to have to choose between 10 years in exile or the Green Card for which they qualify under U.S. law because our laws have been crafted to punish people by keeping them in an undocumented status even when they can apply to be here legally.
• That we are committed to defending immigrant communities if and when the new President and his henchmen develop Muslim registries or neighborhood sweeps or mass round-ups disguised as quote-unquote “fugitive sweeps.”
• We will fight attempts to criminalize immigrants and fight attempts to take away documents from people who are now in the system and working on the books, like the 750,000 young people who signed up for DACA.
• With the BRIDGE Act, we will fight so that DREAMers are protected from deportation and can lead the fight for millions and millions of other immigrants who have no options under our current law.

And let’s just be clear, 76% of the Latinos in this country are citizens.  So three-quarters of us can vote or will soon be able to vote – and for those under 18, the percentage of Latinos who are citizens is 93%.

So don’t think you can deport us into silence.

Don’t think that deporting everyone and eliminating legal immigration – as some in the new President’s circle may fantasize – will suddenly make brown people disappear.

We are here.  We are joined by our allies of every color, shape, national origin, and segment of society.

We are men, women, children, straight, gay, trans, rich, poor, old and young and everything in between and we are locking arms with all of our allies to say that when you come for any of us, we will force you to come for all of us.

We are here to stay and we stand together.

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