McCollum Vote on H.R. 35

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition H.R. 35.

This bill is a solution that has already been addressed in law. Right now, the House of Representatives has important work to do. The deadline to fund the government is one only month away, and the price of eggs is skyrocketing under President Trump. But instead of addressing these problems, Republicans put forward the same messaging bill we voted on last Congress. 

To be clear, fleeing the border patrol already carries criminal and legal penalties under current law, and a conviction for fleeing border patrol already makes a person deportable. This bill is poorly written and politicizes a tragedy. It does nothing to make our border more secure or fix our broken immigration system. Republicans continue to demonstrate they are not willing to work toward real solutions to bring order to the border and fix our immigration system. 

This is another bill in a series of Republican slippery-slope immigration bills that erodes the rights of everyone present in the United States, including green card holders, students, temporary workers, DACA recipients, and even citizens. It attacks due process under the United States Constitution and targets immigrants who are lawfully in the United States. In H.R. 35, there is no requirement that a noncitizen actually be charged by law enforcement, making a person deportable without even being convicted of a crime. Our Constitution holds that in the United States, you are innocent until you are proven guilty. This bill undermines that basic principle.

Thank you, and I yield back.