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Immigration

 
 
 

Reforming Our System of Immigration

My husband Paul was a first generation American who rose to become a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Embracing immigrants and their families is one of our country's great strengths, but our current immigration system is broken and only Congress can fix it.

Approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States, up from 8.5 million in 2000, and 5 million in 1996. States and local governments have grappled with Congress' failure to address immigration reform in different ways, leading to a patchwork of laws, some with very serious consequences. States find themselves facing these issues because the federal government has delayed action for far too long. Only Congress has the authority and the resources necessary to tackle the problem at its root.

On June 27, 2013, the Senate passed S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 68-32. I had hoped that the House of Representatives would follow their lead and take bipartisan action. To that end, I was a cosponsor of the House version of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, H.R. 15. Unfortunately, neither of these bills were acted upon by the Republican House leadership, and no true steps towards immigration reform have been allowed.

True immigration reform will require strong bipartisan cooperation, and I am committed to working to accomplish this critical task.

Individuals who need assistance with a passport, VISA, or immigration-related issue are encouraged to contact my Lowell office at 978-459-0101 to speak with my immigration specialist.

Immigration, Our Economy, and Protecting American Workers

Immigration laws passed in 1986 and 1996 failed to adequately address the primary driver of immigration: employment due to the unmet demands for American workers. By structuring our system so that there are limited legal avenues for employment-related immigration, even as employers in certain sectors of the economy face significant labor shortages, we have created an environment in which law-breaking is assured.

Economists across the ideological spectrum concur that the success of our economy is highly dependent on immigrants - both those who come here legally and illegally. Therefore, for reform to be successful over the long-term, it must create a system capable of adapting to the changing demands of our economy.

For example, our current system of visa quotas is rigid, arbitrary, and not aligned with the true needs of our labor markets. Immigration reform should include a mechanism – such as a commission – to assess the immigration needs of our economy on a continuous basis and provide recommendations for the appropriate levels of immigration in various industries and circumstances. Expanding visas for highly-skilled, STEM workers, for instance, will help make our economy more globally competitive.

However, any reform should protect the American worker first and foremost, ensuring that immigrants do not displace Americans or depress wages. Illegal immigration has created a permanent underclass that, lacking employment protections, effectively underbids American citizens. We need to guarantee that no such illegal underclass is created during boom times and that migrant workers could leave during recessions knowing that they would be able to return legally when there was once again a need for their labor.

While a necessary part of reform, linking our immigration system to the broader needs of the economy will not constitute reform on its own. Employers must also know that hiring illegal immigrants will no longer be treated as business as usual. Since there is a nearly limitless supply of undocumented workers ready to replace their deported peers, targeting workers while ignoring their employers does nothing to impact the root cause of illegal immigration. We must give employers the tools to verify the status of their employees, require all employers to do so, and hold accountable those who fail to comply or who persist in hiring outside the law.

Executive Actions

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

In June of 2012, under the direction of President Barack Obama, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that certain individuals without legal status who were brought to the United States as children (also known as DREAMers), would be considered for relief from deportation for two years. For many DREAMers, who were brought here as children through no fault of their own, the United States is the only country they have ever known, and some don’t know another language besides English. This action became necessary when Congress failed to produce a bill that would allow these young people to earn a path to citizenship.

In one of his first public statements since leaving the White House, President Obama defended that decision, stating:

“…because it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents, my administration acted to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people, so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country. We did so based on the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion, deployed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike, because our immigration enforcement agencies have limited resources, and it makes sense to focus those resources on those who come illegally to this country to do us harm. Deportations of criminals went up. Some 800,000 young people stepped forward, met rigorous requirements, and went through background checks. And America grew stronger as a result.”

On September 5, 2017, President Trump ordered an end to the DACA program and urged Congress to pass a replacement before he begins phasing out DACA’s protections in six months. The President’s decision ran contrary to our nation’s fundamental values, and understandably, has left many in our nation's immigrant community, and in the Third District, anxious and fearful. In response, I joined almost 200 colleagues from both sides of the aisle and cosponsored H.R.3440, the Dream Act of 2017, introduced by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). This bill would provide a permanent legislative solution to protect DREAMers and allow for them to legally stay and work in this country, letting these young people continue to contribute to strengthening their communities and the nation they call home.

I am also a cosponsor of the DREAMer Information Protection Act, H.R.532, introduced by Congressman Beto O'Rourke (D-TX). This bill bars the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using the personal information of someone applying to the DACA program for immigration enforcement purposes. Applying to the DACA program should not mean risking deportation when someone was brought to the U.S. as a child, has been a law-abiding, contributing member of the community ever since, and who poses no threat to our economy or national security.

Recently, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he would address the status of DREAMers in exchange for Democratic support for a funding bill to reopen the federal government. Of the four Congressional leaders who negotiated the budget agreement, only Speaker Paul Ryan has refused to make a commitment to bring an immigration proposal to the Floor for a vote that would protect our nation’s DREAMers. The majority of the members in the House of Representatives – including both Democrats and Republicans – have voiced support for reversing the President’s decision, and Speaker Ryan’s refusal blatantly rejects the will of the majority of the chamber he controls.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on has declined a Trump Administration request that it immediately decide whether the Administration can shut down DACA. As a result, DREAMers will continue to be temporarily shielded from immediate deportation and allowed to keep working legally in the United States.

Increasing border security

For the security of our nation, we must be able to account for every person who enters our country. My first trip as a Member of Congress was to our southern border to get a first-hand look at border security measures.

Border security is an important aspect of comprehensive immigration policy and more work remains to be done that can provide additional resources to our current border protection efforts. Much of the technology we need to police our borders is being developed and manufactured here in the U.S. and in the Third Congressional District, creating well-paying jobs for American citizens. But additional border enforcement must be combined with other reforms so that our efforts can focus on the true security threats that we face—terrorists, criminals, and traffickers of people, drugs, weapons, and money.

Throughout his 2016 presidential campaign and since taking office, President Trump has repeatedly called for a wall to be built along the U.S.-Mexico border. He has claimed that the wall will prevent immigrants from illegally crossing into the U.S., despite his own Homeland Security Secretary and others saying the wall will not stop that from occurring. President Trump has also repeatedly said that Mexico would pay for the wall to be built, something which Mexico has said it will not do.

A federal funding bill introduced by Representative Kay Granger (R-TX) would provide $1.6 billion in funding for the construction of a border wall. On July 27, 2017, I joined 191 of my colleagues in opposing this provision and voting against the bill when it came to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. I will continue to oppose legislation that includes funding for the Trump border wall.

Embracing immigrants and their families is one of our country's great strengths, but our nation’s current immigration system is in need of comprehensive reform – something only Congress has the authority and resources to tackle head on. Unfortunately, Congress has failed to act, leading to a patchwork of laws with which state and local governments must grapple. True immigration reform will require strong bipartisan cooperation, and I am committed to working with my colleagues from across the aisle to accomplish this critical task. An expensive and ineffective border wall is not the answer.

Path to citizenship

We need to address the issue of the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Rounding up and deporting 11 million people is not feasible, but neither is simply allowing 11 million undocumented workers to remain. Undocumented residents should be required to come forward and register for legal status, pay a fine, pay back taxes owed, learn English and pass criminal background checks in order to remain in the country and work toward citizenship. This option should not be available indefinitely, and those who do not come forward within a certain time frame should be removed.

I support legislation that would allow for a shorter path to citizenship for some immigrants, like the DREAMERS who were brought to the United States as children through no fault of their own.

We are a society that respects the rule of law, but we have allowed millions of people, employers and individuals alike, to live outside the law for years. We must restore order. We must be adamant that living in our country means obeying our rules. Many of the ideas described above are neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic or Republican. They were championed by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator John McCain, and by former President George W. Bush. They represent the proposals of serious people from around the country and across the political spectrum interested in getting the job done.

Travel Ban

Since his inauguration, President Trump has issued a series of executive actions aimed at restricting the entry of specific non-U.S. citizens into the United States – actions commonly referred to as the “Travel Ban.” Through a series of Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations, President Trump has sought to suspend and eventually prevent foreign nationals from numerous countries from entering the country including citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea.

Originally, several orders issued by Federal District Courts from around the country prevented the President’s Travel Ban from going into full effect. However, on December 4, 2017, the Supreme Court allowed the government to fully implement President Trump’s most recent version of the ban issued on September 24th, 2017. That Proclamation extends entry restrictions on certain categories of citizens from Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Iran as well as Syria, North Korea and Venezuela and will be in effect pending further proceedings in the federal court of appeals.

The Trump administration has also announced that it intends to dramatically reduce the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United States – a move that would cap the number of refugees entering the country in the coming year to roughly half the amount admitted last year. According to the plan, the United States would admit only 45,000 refugees in 2018, down from the 110,000 refugees admitted during the final year of President Obama’s administration.

Like many Americans, I believe President Trump's Executive Orders on immigration and refugees are an affront to our country’s core values, will have serious consequences for our economy and threaten, rather than enhance, our national security and global competitiveness.

I'm also alarmed by the impact the President’s actions could potentially have on our national security. In many ways the orders have severely harmed our standing in the world and damaged our relationships with important allies around the world, including those partnerships where we need the support of the local population to succeed.

After the President signed the first Executive Order, I signed onto legislation aimed at defending our nation's core values and eliminating the order's harmful effects. Along with nearly two hundred of my colleagues, I cosponsored the SOLVE Act (H.R. 724 introduced by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, D-CA), which would make the President's Executive Order null and void and would ensure that the order is not implemented, administered, enforced or carried out. I also signed onto a letter to John Roth, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, asking that he conduct an immediate investigation into potential abuse of constitutional and civil rights of individuals detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

There is no greater duty for a public official than to provide for the security of our country but I believe we can protect our country while also providing refuge to some of the world's most vulnerable people. Millions of refugees are fleeing their countries of origin in a desperate and dangerous attempt to escape ruthless dictators, wars, terrorism, torture, genocide and persecution. Upon making the difficult decision to flee with their families, refugees have been willing to risk an expensive, uncertain and often fatal journey because these dangers are still preferable to what they face if they stay behind.

I understand the safety concerns some people have about the United States accepting refugees from Syria, in particular, and I’ve looked closely at this issue, traveling to Jordan to visit to a refugee screening facility.

Of the numerous ways an individual can enter the United States from abroad, entering the country as a refugee is one of the most difficult and least certain. Applicants for refugee status are subjected to the most rigorous security screenings and background checks of any individual attempting to enter the United States. Applicants must initially apply for refugee status through the United Nations. If the UN approves the individual’s refugee status, the UN will then refer the refugee to a country for resettlement – there is no guarantee that a refugee will be referred for placement in the United States.

No refugee is approved for travel to the United States under the current system until the full array of required security vetting measures have been completed. On a Congressional delegation to Jordan in 2016, I saw some of the tools being utilized by U.S. State Department officials, such as the biometrics and the ID verification process. I also sat in on an interview of a refugee family where I saw how comprehensively the investigators questioned each individual and thoroughly evaluated their cases. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to make sure that our system of screening and vetting refugees and the agencies in charge of it have the resources they need to keep our country as safe and secure as possible.

I consider America’s embrace of immigrants and their families to be one of our country's great strengths, especially here in Massachusetts's Third District where we have a long and proud history of welcoming immigrants and refugees.

 

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