Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke).

Mr. POLIS. I yield an additional 25 seconds to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Mr. O'ROURKE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Garcia) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Mr. GARCIA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of a unanimous consent request, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez). (Ms. VELAZQUEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa), the chair of the Hispanic Caucus and the ranking member on the Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The House Republican proposal includes a provision that would roll back our bipartisan antihuman trafficking protections that have been in place for 20 years and that were most recently reaffirmed unanimously by Congress in 2008. This is a debate to maintain our due process laws under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, which this bill strips, that help promote the safety of unaccompanied minors. According to the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees, 58 percent of children fleeing to the U.S. from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico may have valid claims to asylum or other legal protections. Our existing laws ensure that these children receive due process. Many of them are victims of human trafficking, of sexual violence, or of other persecution, and they need to have the meaningful opportunity under a law to present their protection claims before an immigration judge. The underlying bill would, according to the UNHCR, drastically weaken the due process protections by subjecting Central American children to an inadequate screening process. We have had our additional speaker arrive to offer our PQ, Mr. Speaker; and if the House had taken up the Senate immigration reform bill, the current influx of migrant children from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala may never have even become the humanitarian crisis that is facing us today. That is why today, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to give the House a second chance. If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 15, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, so the House can finally vote on a broad, long-term solution to overhaul our country's immigration system and to address the border crisis. At the same time, it addresses the systemic causes rather than simply trying to apply Band-Aid, after Band-Aid, after Band-Aid. The House will soon find there are not enough Band-Aids made. We need to address the health of the patient. To discuss our proposal, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Garcia).

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' and defeat the previous question so this body--this House and this Congress--can tackle immigration reform and restore the rule of law to our country. I further encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the underlying bills. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman for yielding. The House of Representatives did pass the DREAM Act during the lame duck session.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I further yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Ms. LEE of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I further yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardenas) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Mr. CARDENAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Ms. CHU asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for submitting that powerful testimony. I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, how can submitting a document and saying what the name of the document is constitute debate?

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I have a further parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. POLIS. Again, Mr. Doggett stated the title of the document that he submitted, which seems to be a prerequisite for submitting a document. I would like to inquire as to why the Chair has ruled to charge the time to us.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I have a further parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the only unanimous consent request that has been charged to our time is Mr. Doggett's. Is that correct?

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)