Louie Gohmert

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. What was that something? He signed off on the amnesty. What was it that the other side didn't provide that they had promised in that law?

Mr. GOHMERT. Has the gentleman been there where the fence is or where the barrier is, like San Diego?

Mr. GOHMERT. All three of you, Mr. Norman, Mr. LaMalfa, and Mr. Griffin, you guys are caring guys, and the Republicans are often castigated as being hard-hearted and not caring. But the stories we have heard from Angel Families and Angel Moms, I know it has affected you guys. We have talked about it. How anybody can work so hard to get elected to come to this body and not be deeply moved by these stories of families that are ripped apart because someone came in illegally and killed a family member--and I know it is a serious issue. We don't normally abide separating children from families, even though it is temporary, but there is a point to make sure that children are not handed over to sex traffickers. But it broke my heart as a felony judge, and it happens in this country over and over every single day of the year, that someone commits a crime and they are taken away; their children are separated from the parent--the parent goes to jail--because we don't believe in incarcerating the children for the father's sins or illegal activity or the mom's. It happens every day. So it rings kind of hollow to me when people start screaming about that and yet have no compassion whatsoever. We heard from a lot of Angel Moms, so many of those who are so derogatory about Republicans wanting to secure our borders, but they will not even give these moms who have lost precious children a minute of their time to hear these tragic stories. One of the stories we heard this weekend was there was a group of people who were being smuggled into the country, and as we have talked about before, nowadays, the drug cartels control every inch of our border from the south side--and, some might argue, from our side as well. There was a wife who was the only female with the group, and they got to the border and they spent, I believe it was, 7 days where the wife was raped by all the other men; and they would hold the husband hostage while the men, for several nights in a row, raped his wife, and there was nothing he could do about it. I mean, how hard-hearted do you have to be to not want to stop the invitations of the drug cartels to contribute to that kind of activity? Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith) for his comments. I hope my friend from California won't have to go far because we have got enough microphones for everybody here.

Mr. GOHMERT. It was over 200,000 acres in one of the fires.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I was going to ask Congressman Norman if he would reflect. We heard from a lot of landowners. Individually, we talked to a number of folks on a separate basis. But, yes, we see here the end of that barrier, all you have to do is just go to the end. Mr. Speaker, after all the folks we talked to in the last few days, I would like to ask Mr. Norman his thoughts about what needs to be done. We have some of our friends across the aisle who say we don't need any kind of barrier. We just need the technical equipment, the cameras, the drones. We don't need a wall. After what he has seen and heard, I would like to hear his thoughts regarding that.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, that was a family member of some of the folks we were with.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, that is right. It was seven people raping his wife 3 days in a row.

Mr. GOHMERT. Right. That is it.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, we were all taking pictures down there. I want to go to a point about the caravans. We all heard about the caravans. We knew that this was a serious invasion coming. The mainstream, or lame stream, media was trying to say it was a manufactured crisis. These were thousands and thousands of people coming to try to invade this country. From news reports, it sounded like they were originally heading to Texas, but our Governor made it clear he was going to work with the Federal Government and anybody the President would send, and we were going to do all within Texas' power with Federal help and the military that was there, to keep them from coming in. Then we hear they are heading toward California, Congressman LaMalfa's State. It sounds like this new caravan that is ginned up may be heading to California, too. I would appreciate the Congressman's comments and thoughts about people heading toward California. People elected him. Surely, they can't be thrilled about an invasion coming like that.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, it is a great point, just a great point. We have heard from angel moms, angel families here, and they complain that they have tried to talk to our Speaker and others on the other side of the aisle, and they are not given time. But we heard from additional angel moms and families down in southern Arizona in the last few days. They didn't seem to me to be bitter. They were just heartbroken, seemed like, not only for losing their loved one, but there will continue to be people who were separated from their children forever, not just for the pendency of a hearing, but forever, because we weren't doing our job that we took an oath to do. Congressman Griffith, what about those meetings struck you?

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, she didn't know who we were.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I know some on the left try to say, oh, this is because you are a xenophobe or afraid of Hispanics. I know this is a generalization, but personally, in my opinion, I think the three things that helped make America the greatest country in history were a love of God, a love of family, and a hard-work ethic. Generally speaking, when I look at the Hispanic culture, all my friends, they have a love of God, tremendous devotion to family, kind of like a lot of people in my hometown used to have, but don't have. I think the Hispanic culture can help reinvigorate what made America the greatest country in the world. I want those folks coming. But like Congressman LaMalfa was saying: Legally. I know Congressman LaMalfa has got a lot of agriculture, and it takes a lot of workers who are willing to get out there and sweat. I hear it is harder and harder to find those folks. We know it. Hispanic folks are some of the hardest working folks I have ever been around. But, as Congressman LaMalfa said, it has got to be legal. Some people are saying: Well, so what is it going to take? Why don't you throw out there on the table so many more visas? And my contention is: We have been through this in `86, again when Clinton was President; how many times do we have to be fooled? I keep contending: We secure the border and we can work this out. We are already the most generous country in the history of the world when it comes to legally allowing people to come into this country. Nobody gives a million visas like we do--over a million. But, even then, we can still get the workers we need, we can do what we need. But as long as that border is porous--it is silly to keep luring more people in with the hope that they will be given amnesty before we secure the border, because then we will see more and more of the human tragedy that both gentlemen have been talking about. California has had its share of human tragedy at the hands of illegal aliens, but so has the whole country. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from California (Mr. LaMalfa) one more time, and then I would like to hear from my friend, Congressman Griffith, before we wrap this up.

Mr. GOHMERT. By the way, we saw, last week, a big photograph of a massive metal barrier around the perimeter of the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Somebody there knows that walls or fences work when they are combined with security. I yield to my friend.

Mr. GOHMERT. So you are going on the record as saying, you believe the question of citizen or noncitizen should be on the census?

Mr. GOHMERT. Well, that would exclude some of our Federal judges, apparently.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman LaMalfa, and I thank my friend, Congressman Norman, who was here earlier, for their comments. Mr. Speaker, we ought to be able to extend that barrier just a little further. It is too easy to walk around the end. Where it is there, it does a lot of good. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith) for his comments.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Griffith. I appreciate his wisdom. I always have and always will. I, again, echo the comments he made about thanking Congressman Andy Biggs, for arranging this, and Paul Gosar for his help. They are both fantastic Members of Congress from Arizona. I thank Arizona for sending Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar here. They are invaluable. I hope we are going to be able to help Arizona finish--look, the President has already backed off of the $25 billion requested. I thought that was an exceedingly reasonable request when you look at the damage occurring to families all over America, and especially to the families of people who are being lured in here to their death or detriment. Let's move that fence a little further along. Let's get an agreement done so that we can help out these landowners and the people who are suffering, so no more people will be stabbed, even though they were not American citizens, stabbed and forced to watch your wife be repeatedly raped. I mean, how callous do you have to be to say: No, we don't want to deal with that problem; we are going to allow that to keep going? How callous do you have to be? As we understand it, the family member--we have talked to his sister--he went out there and always provided water and food to people who were illegally crossing into the United States and were illegally on their property, and yet he ends up being shot dead in the head. It is time to start doing more to protect Americans. It is time to start doing more out of compassion for the people of Mexico to dry up the tens of billions of dollars every year going to the drug cartels. Let's extend the barriers where we need it. Let's do the humane thing for our friends south of the border, and especially those people to whom we have taken an oath to protect their constitution, including them. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I appreciate my friend, Congressman Smith, for his efforts in this regard. Madam Speaker, I have talked before about my wife's and my first child being born prematurely. We didn't know if we were going to get to keep her. My wife had to stay in the hospital in Tyler. They took our precious daughter many weeks early to Shreveport. The doctor there said: Her eyes are not working properly. She can't see, but she knows your voice. She has heard it for a number of months now. It will give her comfort. So caress her, let her know you are here, and talk to her. Let her feel your presence. Let her hear your presence. They said: You can stay a maximum of 2 hours before you have to take a break. While I was touching her little hand, she took my finger and held it. The doctor came along in an hour or so and said: Have you looked at the monitors? That erratic breathing is now much smoother. Still very shallow, the heart rate still very fast, but it is not erratic. She is drawing life, and she is drawing strength, through you. I am telling you, these children, unborn and born prematurely and born full-term, they want to live. They want a shot at life. I know there is so much out there: Oh, but a woman has a right to choose. But we should speak up for the most vulnerable who can't speak for themselves. That is what Ramona Trevino did, former director of the Sherman Planned Parenthood. She said what finally drove her out of Planned Parenthood were the monthly statistics. The most important statistic was how many young children, as young as 12, are you getting on birth control pills, because the younger you get them on birth control pills, the more likely they will miss days, but they will be sexually active, multiple partners, and the more likely they will get pregnant, and we make a lot of money off the abortions. So the most critical thing: get them on those birth control pills. Where in the world does that end up being good for the child? Where? We have people in China; they abort female children right and left. Let's speak up for the females, for the unborn. Give them a chance. Let them live. You will be better. They will be better.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. This is an important week in history as I was taught in law school that courts do not take up cases to merely give an advisory opinion, that there has to be someone who is actually harmed by some action about which they are suing. As we know, in the Roe v. Wade case, at the time it was adjudicated, there was no justiciable issue. The plaintiff in that case now publicly states she was used by the pro-abortion groups, she was manipulated, and that she has suffered because of what the pro-abortion groups talked her into. She has dedicated her life to try to undo the wrong that has been done purportedly for her. So I appreciate my friends' speaking up. As I said, in my case, I will never forget my child, many weeks early, holding on, breathing rapidly, but doing everything she could to live. Most of us have seen the in utero photograph of an unborn baby, an unborn child, grasping the finger of a doctor. They want to live. They want to grow. They want to be. They want to know. Though my child couldn't see me with her eyes because they weren't far developed, as the doctor said: She knows your voice. You give her comfort because she knows your voice. We heard testimony in our Judiciary Committee previously from a doctor who did maybe 1,000, I think he said, late-term abortions. It is difficult to take as he described. Of course, the female body is not able to birth or get rid of a child without intervention, so if somebody wants an abortion of a child that is further along and is developed, he described--and I won't use the detail he did because it gets me too emotional. He would go in with clamps, find something that felt like an arm or a leg, grasp hold, pull it off from the body, dispose of that, reach for something else that felt like an arm or a leg and pull it off, because the body with the head and the limbs attached cannot be brought out. He would rip one after another the two arms and the two legs off. Then, as he would describe, the last thing you reach for is something bulbous, and when you find it, you have to crush it so you can get the child out of the womb. After he lost his daughter in a tragic accident, he simply could not pull another child apart like that. He gave it up and regretted all of those abortions that he had done with no feeling until he lost his own daughter in an accident. I want to say I appreciate Majority Leader Hoyer bringing up a request that people speak civilly about each other. I get pretty frustrated with some folks here, some in the Senate, and that is just my own party. But I keep hearing--and we have heard this in the Judiciary Committee. We have had hearings on it. People keep wanting to say that the biggest problem is this rising anti-Islam hate crime body that is emerging. But we have got the numbers here from 2015, 2016, 2017. Even one hate-based crime is too many. There were 257 incidents in 2015 involving anti-Islamic feelings, hatred, prejudice, 307 victims. That can include yelling, but normally, the offenses, there were 301. But anti-Jewish, in 2015, there were 664 incidents, 695 offenses, and 731 victims. That is pretty much 2 to 3 to 1 more anti-Jewish hate crime offenses and incidents than anti-Islamic. One is too many, but I hope that people who are in the House will cease the anti-Israel bigotry and the anti-Israel hatred. After 6 million Jews were slaughtered during World War II, before that and leading up to it, they needed a place, and, of course, it satisfied and fulfilled a great deal of prophecy that Israel came back. There are no descendants of anyone who preceded the Jewish people in that area currently alive. Yet there is so much hatred for the Jewish people. I saw it in Germany last year. I couldn't believe I was seeing hatred rising again. Much of it was from people who were refugees, but it is shocking. Germany was trying to show the world how loving, open, and accepting they were, so they took in all of these refugees, most of whom were Muslim, and now they have all this anti-Jewish hatred. So, hopefully, this House can set the proper precedent by stopping the anti-Semitic comments. For heaven's sake, I have been mad at Senator Graham over different things, but one of our House Members accused him of being compromised and then made allegations insinuating that he is really hateful. So I am hopeful that my friends across the aisle will be able to avoid going to those hateful places so that we can have rigorous, tough debate without trying to assassinate character. One of the places we see a tremendous amount of bigotry, hatred, and racism is in the Judeo-Samaritan areas from the Palestinian Authority. It is unbelievable that, in today's time, an area the United States is sending a tremendous amount of money, that we would be mute while the Palestinian Authority sentences a man apparently of Arab descent, Issam Akel. He is a U.S. citizen. But he was abducted by Palestinian Authority intelligence October 11 in Ramallah, and he has now been sentenced to life at hard labor because he sold what they say is Palestinian property to a Jew. That is incredible. We are sending them money to help cultivate that kind of bigotry and hatred against Jews? Really? This day and time we are doing that? It needs to stop. I have seen literature that is being used in Palestinian areas to teach children to hate Jews, to think of them, as Farrakhan said, like termites or rats, for heaven's sake. Then I see friends across the aisle in pictures embracing Farrakhan as he has said some of the most hateful, vile, mean-spirited, and bigoted comments about our Jewish friends. Really? I would share the desire and the hope that one day we really will achieve Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream where people are judged by the content of their character and it won't be necessary to ask people on forms what race they are. I think it is important to know if people are citizens or not because that is how we arrive at how many Representatives, that kind of thing. Those are important things. It helps a lot with governmental decisions when we know who is a citizen and who isn't, that kind of thing. Madam Speaker, I look forward to the day we don't have to ask race. Everybody would just check ``human race,'' and it won't matter. It doesn't matter if you are Hispanic, black, white, red, or green. It won't matter. And I look so forward to that day. Then we won't need any groups that use race or skin color to delineate the group, because we will have other things and other priorities that draw our interests; and we will be determined by those kind of groups, not hate groups, but groups that come together because of shared interests, and race doesn't matter. I look forward to those days. But in the Palestinian areas, the Palestinian Authority is multiplying the hate, and we keep funding them. I was glad we cut back some of the money being sent that is still being spent and still going there. The other thing that we keep hearing more about than anything is how hateful, immoral, and mean-spirited walls are, even though everybody who talks about walls has an outer wall around their home or their apartment building. Whatever they live in, there is an outer wall. Why? Madam Speaker, it is because you don't want everybody coming and parading through your home unless you invite them. Yes, Madam Speaker, just because there are burglars who can get past your dead bolt lock or break through your window, you still have a wall. You still have dead bolts because it will help slow people down from trying to get in, and hopefully they will be caught before they can get in and do damage. Hopefully, just the presence of an outer wall around your home--I understand most people want to have interior walls to give family members some privacy, but if walls are immoral, why would you have one around your home, the outer wall of your home? It is because they work. They are not immoral. Some people say, oh, it is a 14th century solution. Actually, it is more like a 3000 B.C. solution. I have a picture in my office of some of our military there at a place called Ur, where Abraham came from. There has been a massive wall there since about 3000 B.C. They are used to slow down people whom you don't want coming in without your permission. So it isn't a 21st century problem with having people walk into your home or homeland unimpeded. It is as old as humanity itself, and walls can help. Madam Speaker, that is why I had the picture the other day, earlier this week, of the huge fence barrier that was put up at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, because the people in charge there--and Hillary Clinton was the nominal head of the party, being the nominee. Those folks understood those help keep out people you don't want in. Nobody told the head of the Democratic National Committee, including their nominee, that fences, barriers, and walls don't work. So they had it out there on full display because they didn't want anybody coming in they didn't want there, and that includes people who were not delegates or the people they wanted. They knew that walls, fencing, and barriers would work, but only if you have security there to watch over them. So it is a good thing. So we had that picture. Then here is a picture of a wall and fence. A lot of people say Israel has a wall around it, because they do have some wall, but most of it is fence. It works because they guard it. We ought to be doing the same thing because, if we allow this Nation to continue to have people pouring in, even people who pour in well motivated, coming in illegally, they haven't been educated on how you keep a self-governing country, and you lose it. Mostly, in history, they haven't lasted 200 years. That is about the end. We are beyond that. But we are headed to the dustbin of history unless we begin to teach all those here how you keep a republic. And I know some have been miseducated and think socialism is the way to go--oh, it is so much more caring; you have got billionaires pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars--because they think, when all is said and done, they will be part of that top ruling class. In socialism you never have just one class--that is the way it is sold--but you have the big, powerful, rich ruling class, like oligarchs in Russia, and then you have the ruled class. Actually, I saw it firsthand as an exchange student in the Soviet Union. You have got the rulers and you have got the ruled, and you don't really have a middle class. It is not a good way to live because you have got to have a totalitarian government, as Khrushchev found out when he tried to come up with a plan to get rid of government and go just to the ``share and share alike'' philosophy. He disbanded the commission because it didn't work. There is no way to ever go without a totalitarian government that tells you everything you can or can't do. Anyway, Israel, walls work, fences work, those barriers work. And I think this is a lovely wall and fence. My understanding is this one is part of--well, it protects the Hillary Clinton Chappaqua residence, Chappaqua, New York. Nobody has gotten word to Hillary Clinton, apparently, that these things don't work. You have got security. You have got the walls. You have got the fence. I know she is saying otherwise now, but she knows. That is why she has got a wall and a fence. She knows it works. It is not immoral, trying to protect what you have got, protect the people you love, what you love. There are just so many examples around the world. I needed this marked. I believe this is Bill de Blasio's. I am not certain. I think this is his wall and fence because, even though he has said something like, ``They have got plenty of money; it is in the wrong hands,'' he doesn't realize he is one of the wrong hands it is in. And if he would get rid of his wall, he could invite all those people into his home, and he could stop saying walls are immoral, because he got rid of his immoral wall. And, obviously, for those who don't understand sarcasm, that is sarcasm. And these are examples here of walls, fences that work. They keep people out. Now, the Iron Curtain, that was a different matter, because they were keeping people in that didn't want to be in, shooting people that didn't stay in. But they work. That is why they are around prisons. That is why they are around jails or jail facilities. Yes, they work. We have found that for thousands of years. So I hope that we will be more realistic in the arguments and debates that go on here, stop the ridiculous rhetoric. Everybody in here knows walls work. That is why their home has outer walls instead of just some partitions in the middle of the home where anybody can walk in and around and through their home. They know those walls work. So let's talk about what most people in here have voted for. Let's get the government reopened because we agree to do something to stop the death, the human carnage, the rape, all of these horrendous things brought about by drug cartels controlling our southern border. Let's stop it. Let's dry up the cartels. And for those who don't care about the Americans, if your number one goal is to help the people of Mexico, help the people of Central America as well, the thing to do is get a barrier, get a wall where we need it, but secure the whole thing. Then we dry up the money to the drug cartels and Mexico becomes a top ten economy; they have a burgeoning middle class and they have a better standard of living. The best thing we can do for Mexico and Central America: build a wall where we need it; secure the border; cut off the money, then, flowing to the drug cartels; and give the people of Mexico a life they deserve. Having some trickle in--they have got 130,000 or so in Mexico. Having a million come in a year, that is still not helping the people of Mexico, and it is bringing down our own country because we are not prepared and able to take care of such mass illegal invaders on top of the million-plus legal visas we give people to come in our country. Why? Because we are the most generous country in the world when it comes to philanthropy and when it comes to giving visas, because we know it is a strength to have many races, to have many national origins. But the one thing that I loved about 9/12--when we gathered in our town square and we held hands, we sang hymns together, we prayed together--that day, for that day, there was not a single hyphenated America out there. Every person there said, ``I am an American''--all races, creed, color, national origin, age. On 9/12, we were one nation, under God. And I hope and pray we can get back to that place. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, it may have taken eighty-one years, but the doggedness and passion that fueled the city of Longview, Texas, to harness the great oil boom and a state championship title in 1937 has once again proven undauntable--resulting in the Longview High School Lobos capturing the top rung in Texas high school athletics to become the 2018 Class 6A Division II Texas State High School Football Champions. As the Lobos' fight song attests, the team was determined to ``circle in and hit them hard'' when facing the tangle with the Beaumont West Brook Bruins, culminating in a thrilling 35-34 victory for the Wolf Pack in front of a spectacular throng numbering more than 48,000 strong, a big majority of which were apparently loyal Lobos fans. The down-to-the-wire fight was the culmination of a perfect 16-0 season for the Lobos, and was even more gratifying since the Lobos had faced West Brook in the playoffs for three straight years. This was the first opportunity, however, for the two teams to grapple for the state trophy. This represented the first top tier title opportunity for the Lobos after decades of near misses and close calls, providing passionate fans a long season to bask in the momentum and a history making trip to capture state wide bragging rights. Though the Lobos were down at halftime 28 to 20, they certainly were not out because of their heart, their talent, their coaching and their community support. This was a Longview team that simply refused to stay down, and refused to lose. And the Lobos earned those bragging rights in spectacular fashion, coming from behind in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter to secure a fantastic win. Trailing Beaumont West Brook 34-29 with 8:17 left in the 4th quarter, Quarterback Haynes King's outstanding passing pushed the Lobos offense to West Brook's red zone. Stalwart running back Jessie Anderson then punched through to the end zone, giving the Lobos a 35-34 lead with 4:42 left in the game. The Lobos were ahead by one, but played the odds and went for two points in case West Brook tried a field goal. Though the extra two-point conversion was unsuccessful, the two were unneeded because of the way the Lobo defense, yet again, rose to the occasion and crushed the Bruins' comeback attempt along with their hopes for victory. No question Beaumont West Brook deserved to be in the State Championship, had an absolutely fabulous team, and played a stellar game. But the Longview Lobos proved they had everything a fan could want in an unbeatable football team. They made Longview, Gregg County, and all East Texas swell with pride. The game's Offensive Most Valuable Player was Lobo quarterback Haynes King who was 16-of-27 for 423 passing yards. He connected on two touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown as part of his 65 rushing yards. Kamden Perry secured a Class 6A state championship game record of 8 catches for 218 yards including a 77-yard touchdown catch. Perry's amazing reception record was joined by Kaden Kearbey's great catches that added another 87 yards, which included a touchdown on a 40-yard catch. Kyas Moore, who also has another year to play with the Lobos, caught a breathtaking pass that took Longview 54 yards down the field on their 4th quarter go-ahead drive. Though Jessie Anderson's total rushing yards was not his high this year, he showed once again how incredibly valuable he is to this championship team. His two touchdowns on two punishing runs showed him to be a weapon that is anything but secret. In fact, his second touchdown was the final and go-ahead score of the game. The Lobo defense showed the huge crowd at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington that both sides of the ball deserved to be State Champs. Tyshawn Taylor made 11 brutal tackles, including pairing with a crashing hit by Ja'Vontae Writt, creating a final Bruin drive-stop because of its recovery by Micheal Martin with 1:02 left in the game. The Defensive Most Valuable Player was Jephaniah Lister with a team- high 12 tackles. Yet another defensive standout was Isiah Rodgers who had 10 tackles and one broken up pass. Of course the play of Robert Pierce and Jaylon Allen have to be mentioned as they both participated in an important sack. As many college and pro teams have learned, a team must have a good kicker to be of championship caliber which is exactly what the Lobos have in J.K. Martin, who kicked a fourth quarter 28-yard field goal, and four times prevented any runback at all with touchbacks in the end zone. He also showed college quality in averaging 44 yards on his two punts. Proving who had the better offense not only with the score, Longview had 569 yards of total offense compared to 493 by West Brook. After the Lobo go-ahead score in the 4th quarter, West Brook Bruins took the Lobo kick off and began their drive to try to retake the lead. But that is when the crushing blow created the fumble Martin recovered. Even then the game was not on ice until a first down was made by a long run by Keilyn Williams to create a first and goal with only 2:08 to play, but Longview showed its grace in victory by taking a knee until the clock ran out and the Lobos' stellar win was secure. It is an esteemed honor to pay tribute to the members of the 2018 state championship Longview Lobos team: Otarvio Buchanan, Jephaniah Lister, Kybrien Jackson-Jamerson, Ja'vontae Writt, Ty'monyahe Abney, Jessie Anderson, Cedric Hopkins, Dylan Davis, Jacob Johnson, Daquavion Randall, Jy'christon Baxter, Haynes King, Marqualon Haynes, Kamden Perry, Jayden Williams, Jecoby Jackson, Jordan Malone, Spiro Mijalis, Da'kiemion Mumphrey, Datravious Nelson, Micheal Martin, Markevion Haynes, J.K. Martin, Tyree Hale, Kameron Sublett, Keith Halton, Dalton Serrato, Kaden Kearbey, Jacobie Bowman, Keilyn Williams, Patrick Webb, Cameron Wilson, Jakobe Ross, Isiah Rodgers, Jaharious Jones, Jamien Horne, Dezmond Armstrong, Reginald Hutchins, De'leon Jones, Tainique Taylor, Aisaiah Taylor, Charlie Templeton, Shannon Jackson, Kevin Jones, Robert Vinson, Tyshawn Taylor, De'cameron Thomas, Kaden Meredith, Jacorey Valentine, Lavayvian Godlock, Davyon Mitchell, Laqualon Hale, Asiyas Hall, Alex Zulueta, Hunter Jones, Coy Sanders, Corey Evans, Davian Reese, Harvey Boyd, Dasabrian Parker, Logan Noguera, Logan Peters, Dakirin Buchanan, Ruben Flores, Robert Pierce, Xavier Blanton, Andrew Beltran, Brandon Snyder, Bryant Arthur III, Timothy Polk, Syre Moore, Kaleb Snoddy, Jahkamian Carr, Daniel Mancha, Devin Brooks, Bailey Smith, Xabier Evans, Isaiah George, Joaquin Tovar, Leundrae Craven, Brady Miller, Kevon Green, Brian Bell, Jacob Warner, Marcus Williams, Alessandro Lazalde, Marcus Harry, Gavin Roberts, Jhy'mhriyon Gay, Jamie Jones, Connor Cox, Parker Cox, Cedric Smith, Daniel Warner, Lakeithan Duffey, Jonathan Tutt, Logan Washburn, Eliyjah Cox, Elijah Byrd, Malik Miller, Da'qwaylen Reed, Tavion Sterling, Trevor Ford, David Parks, Kaylon Allen, Damykal Mcmillan, Anthony Parker, Jakeilan Howard, Quintele Jackson, Kyas Moore, Trevor N. Tamplin, Miguel Maldonado, Daze Wallace, Kenterias Parker, Asriel Jones, Austin Pencheon, Jorge Rebollar, Samuel Mijalis, Jhailon Braden, Asontte Smith, Aiden Diaz, Jaydyn James-Rollins, Michael Mavhunga, Antonio Onofre, Sawyer Goram-Welch, Joe Jones, Kiyaus Ingram, Owen Kuenemann, Spencer Powell, Jonathon Davis, Jared Reese, Carlos Vazquez, Jordan Wallace, and Jaylon Allen. The Lobos are a perfect representation of what can be accomplished when a team possesses both perseverance and discipline, combined with motivation, guidance, and resolve from an experienced and proficient coaching staff. Among those individuals committed to ``Making A Difference: One Student At A Time'' are: Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox; Assistant Superintendent Secondary Education James Brewer, Athletic Director/Head Football Coach John King; Assistant Athletic Director Johnny Hamilton; Football Staff consisting of Oscar Wilson, Chris Vallery, Jon Writt, C.J. Lottinger, David Ashley, Casey Pearce, Randy Huffstickler, Scott Hartt, Chris Lashley, Brandon Bonds, Trevor Murphy, Brad Faulkner, Tracy Carpenter, Jalen Claiborne, Robert Hanna, Cade Carnett; Athletic Trainers Deirdre Scotter, Jessica Hill, Kristin Croley; as well as Band Director Tommy Moore, Viewette Director Deborah Mcgowan, and Cheerleader Sponsor Heather Gee. It is with great pride that I join with the citizens of Longview, as well as the entire First District of Texas, in congratulating the Longview Lobos on their State Football Championship. This is an outstanding accomplishment, and may God continue to bless these young people, along with their families, friends and neighbors in Longview.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, we hear that walls don't work, yet this is a picture of the Democratic National Convention in 2016. They put up a barrier. They put up a fence because they wanted to protect themselves like people in America want to protect themselves. And there is a lovely gate, wall. They have them everywhere there is something that needs to be secured. Every single Democrat who is standing against securing our border has an outer wall to their home. If walls don't work, they can eliminate that. People can come and go as they please. But they know deep down in their hearts, they secure their dead bolts. They secure their home. They may even have a wall around their outer wall because walls work. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for yielding to me.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for not only her service but also this Special Order. This is such an important issue. Madam Speaker, having spent so many nights all night on the border, it is incredible what you see down there. But what is even worse is what the Border Patrol can tell you about, things that you can find on the internet, there are videos and there are pictures. I have daughters, and there are some things I would just rather not see. But as long as our border is porous and as long as we don't have a wall or a fence where we need it, people are being drawn into this country. Mexico alone has about 130 million people. Obviously we can't have an influx of 100 million people without destroying the economy, and then we are no longer able to provide light to so much of the world. But if we secure our border--wall, fence, barrier--where we need it, it cuts off the tens of billions--maybe over 100 billion now--going to the drug cartels and the corruption comes to a crawl. But as long as we have this porous border, we are funding some of the most evil and horrendous human tragedy that is going on anywhere in the world. The police try to stand up--it is not hard to see pictures, find the stories--mayor--they end up with their head cut off and put on a pike. How callous, how mean-spirited does somebody have to be and how politically driven to say ``we don't care about that''? This is a political issue. We don't want the President to have a win, so we are just going to let the border stay as porous as it is. They talk of rape trees where women are tied to the trees and repeatedly raped. Objectively groups say that maybe 37 percent or more are molested sexually, normally multiple times. How callous do you have to be to say, yeah, but this is political. It is helping our party. We want to keep it going. It is time to do the right thing by the people of the United States and, for heaven's sake, to do the right thing by the people of Mexico.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King). Clarification of Remarks

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Iowa, for his comments. I have traveled with him, been to different parts of the country and different parts of the world with my friend, Mr. King from Iowa. I have seen him dealing with different races, nationalities around the world. And I have had a lot of private conversations and never seen anything that indicated anything but condemnation for white supremacists. But he is a proud American. He is an American; he is very proud of it. And he is proud to carry the moniker of being an American in any situation, and I would contend that is not a bad thing. Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the speeches on the floor here this week. There has been a great deal of righteous indignation and constant condemnation for a shutdown. It is deeply troubling. There are some people working who are not getting paid. I would like to see that fixed. But President Trump got his answer this week when he continued to try to compromise with Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi, trying to get a compromise. I was delighted to hear Majority Leader Hoyer mention that we have to have compromise. It is how things are supposed to work. I agree with the tone o that comment, but it is not a compromise to say I will give you a dollar for the border wall when it is such a serious matter, and especially when we have a history of people making comments on the Democratic side as well as the Republican side about the need for border security, the need for either a wall, a barrier, a fence, but tough, tight border security for the country, which is the most generous country, not only philanthropically. There has never been a country that has given more, done more, without any request in return, but just out of the goodness of Americans' hearts, for other parts of the world. We do that. We care deeply. But the only way you can have people who are giving and who have money to share and spare is if we have a vibrant economy here. Otherwise, America continued the move we saw during the last administration where the middle class kept shrinking, the poor got much bigger, and the rich, well, it is easiest to put it this way: We have never had a time in the United States history, never, when the policies of an administration would have the effect that the Obama administration had. Here is what President Obama acknowledged: For the first time in American history, 95 percent of American income went to the top 1 percent. But that is what happens as you move more and more toward a socialist form of government. You will have the rich ruling class, virtually no middle class, and then you have everybody equal in the poor ruled class. That is where socialism goes, and that is where this country has been heading as young people have been miseducated and not been informed that socialism has never worked. It will never work. It always leads to totalitarianism. You can't have socialism without totalitarianism. One might ask, why do we have so many billionaires supporting socialism, the Democratic cause, the progressivism, as they call it? Well, it is because they see themselves being in the rich ruling class once they get rid of the middle class. It helps to get rid of the middle class if you keep bringing illegal immigrants into the country so they take the jobs of Americans. But never forget the cost of that. Here are some quotes: ``Well, look, I voted numerous times when I was a Senator to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in. And I do think you have to control your borders.'' That was Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. She was asked: ``Would you commit tonight that you would finish the fence and speed up the construction?'' And she said: ``Both Senator Obama and I voted for that as part of the immigration debate . . . . We were voting for the possibility that, where it was appropriate and made sense, it would be considered.'' So she was watering it down already a little bit from where she had been before. But Senator Barack Obama said: ``We fail to protect our Nation if we do not regain control over our immigration system immediately.'' It is really heartbreaking to hear people that I like condemn as hateful and immoral a wall like they have around their house. The walls of the houses themselves show that wall works. The fact that so many people in this body at night, the last thing they do, they make sure all the doors are locked. It didn't used to be that way. If you are in a gated community and you have really tight security in your gated community, you may not need to lock your doors. You may feel safe enough without that. But most will secure their doors, not because a burglar can't break through and get into their home, but because walls work. They are secure in slowing down people who would be trespassers, burglars, long enough, hopefully, for either the police to arrive or for the homeowner to be prepared for the burglar coming in. That is the hope. I mean, that is why people don't just have a roof. They have walls around their home. People that they don't want to come in and interrupt their families don't come unless they are invited. That is the way the immigration system works. So I would encourage all my friends who say walls don't work, go home this weekend and get a contractor to destroy your outer walls. If you have a wall or fence around your home, you have a gated community, tell them, demand, that the walls, the gates, they all be destroyed and say: ``Walls don't work. I have been saying it over and over on the House floor and in the media, CNN, MSNBC, `Walls don't work,' so I am going to eliminate the hypocrisy that some could see in my life. I am going to eliminate the outer wall of my home, because walls don't work. I am not going to have a door anymore, no walls, because walls don't work.'' That is what needs to happen this weekend to avoid--some people I really care deeply about, I don't want them to look like hypocrites. I want them to look fine and upstanding, but you have to eliminate the walls of your house, because walls don't work, according to you. The righteous indignation that we have heard this week and in prior weeks about the shutdown, I want to put the focus on people who are working right now and who may not get their next paycheck if Speaker Pelosi and Schumer do not at least agree to some compromise, something, not continue to say no to a wall, no to a barrier. Then when he says: Okay, I will compromise. It won't be concrete. It will be steel. There is a compromise. They said: Oh, now we see you don't have a definite plan. Well, yeah. He is trying to compromise with people who disagree with him. Fine, but if you are going to compromise, you are going to do it with the President: Okay, I will compromise. We will make it a steel wall. Okay, we will compromise, and we will have barriers. Let's work it out, what we will have. Oh, see, they say: He doesn't have a plan. We need to see exactly what his plan is. Oh, he has got a plan, but you said under no circumstances would you agree. He has been compromising. That is what it is called. That is what he is trying to do. And that is what we have been wanting to do here in the House. Let's have a compromise. But don't say under no circumstances will you ever agree to any kind of wall, fence, barrier and then say: There is our compromise. That is not a compromise. And if people would just go back and look at what they have said in the past, it will be much easier for them to reach this compromise: Oh, I forgot I said that. I did. And I know they wouldn't have said it in prior years if they hadn't meant it. Now, some of my friends across the aisle are saying, well, we don't need a wall. We need a virtual wall: the drones, the cameras, and that kind of thing. Well, you also do need a barrier or those things don't work. And, in fact, under the prior administration that had, as I recall, about $8 billion to create a virtual wall in support of securing our border, there was one little out that they had to avoid doing any of that, and that was if the administration declared virtual walls wouldn't work, the technology wouldn't work. And that is what Secretary Napolitano did. I can't find out what they did with the $8 billion in the prior administration since they didn't spend it on the drones and the technology, but they declared, in the prior administration, that that kind of thing doesn't work, and so they weren't going to spend money on it. Now they come back some years later and say: Well, do you know what? We think we were wrong before. Those kind of things do work. The technology, that is what we need. Why they are saying that now, when they disagreed some years back, is because President Trump, who creates PTSD--President Trump stress disorder. They are suffering from the PTSD, the President Trump stress disorder. And now, in that condition, they are saying: It doesn't matter what he wants. We are not agreeing to anything he wants, period. He has to have total capitulation, and that is our offered compromise. Going back just a little bit again, you had this comment: ``When I see Mexican flags waved at pro-immigration demonstrations, I sometimes feel a flush of patriotic resentment. When I'm forced to use a translator to communicate with a guy fixing my car, I feel a certain frustration.'' My friends may recognize the name. That was Senator Barack Obama. You have another here: ``The American people are fundamentally pro- legal immigration. . . . '' And put me in that category, too. But he said: ``The American people are fundamentally pro-legal immigration and anti-illegal immigration. We will only pass comprehensive reform when we recognize this fundamental concept. . . . First, illegal immigration is wrong, and a primary goal of comprehensive immigration reform must be to dramatically curtail future illegal immigration.'' That is what President Trump is trying to do. That is what we are trying to do. By the way, that was Senator Schumer who said that. We had a President that recently said: ``I'll tell you what we can't have; it's these parents sending their kids here on a dangerous journey and putting their lives at risk.'' That was President Barack Obama in 2015. I have several pages of quotes from Democratic friends who have been supportive in the past of what we are asking for now. Let's not play politics with this. Let's just help the American people. I got a great quote from President Clinton in his State of the Union back in 1995, when he felt like the Republicans do now. Here is a good quote: ``It's a competition for space.'' I don't buy that, but this is what was said by a Democrat: ``It's a competition for space. Whether the space is a job, the space is a home, a place in a classroom, it becomes a competition for space. This is a country that's based on immigration. And we all know that. . . . And yet, at times you become so overtaxed you have to concentrate on saying, `The people who should be here are those who come legally at this time.' And we've got to, for the time being, enforce our borders.'' That was a well-educated Senator named Dianne Feinstein on a visit to the border. And, yes, it was some years back. And again, I have got lots of these quotes. Here is one. ``Do we have a commitment to secure the border? Yes. What are the options that we have available to us; let's make sure they work. . . . Because we do need to address the issue of immigration and the challenge we have of undocumented people in our country. We certainly do not want any more coming in.'' And I agree with Speaker Pelosi when she said that previously in the last Democratic majority. That was made in 2008. That helped the Democrats keep the majority for a second term. And now, I think, to put the needs of the American people behind the desires of people who want to come in illegally is a big mistake. You will erode and destroy this country's ability to be the most philanthropic, to be a country that every year produces cleaner air or cleaner water, like Texas has. You erode that ability. Because when people are struggling financially, the thoughts of a cleaner environment and helping others fall behind the desires of just making enough to feed their family. We have seen it throughout history. It is important to secure our border. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from Florida (Mr. Yoho), a real patriot. I don't believe he minds being called a patriot.