Immigration
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, released the following statement regarding his vote in favor of H.R. 4038, the American SAFE Act of 2015:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, released the following statement regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decision to maintain an injunction on the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program:
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, is using a time-honored way of making his feelings known about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: speaking out from the well of the U.S. House.
In a so-called "one-minute," a speech that is one minute long, Veasey unloaded on Abbott last week for a warning the governor made to Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez about deporting immigrants here illegally.
"Sheriff Valdez has a long history of serving her community," Veasey said. "But recently, she has come under attack for trying to build trusting relationships with the immigrant community.
"I will carry Pope Francis' words with me as we move forward to address the problems that lay before us as a country," said Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat who invited a DREAMer – a person brought illegally to the U.S. as a child – to the speech.
He ticked off his concerns: "Reforming our broken immigration system, eradicating poverty and ensuring that all have a voice in our nation's democracy."
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, released the following statement after Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress:
"Today, I had the privilege of witnessing history. Pope Francis' address to Congress challenged elected leaders to address the moral challenges of our generation with an open heart and a spirit of compassion and cooperation.
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, invited immigration activist Lissette Moreno, who hopes "the Pope's message can help unite our country's leaders," she said in a statement.
Leahy wasn't the only Democrat to praise the pope's message on immigration. "It's a big issue to him," said Rep. Marc Veasey, who had urged the pope to talk about the issue. "Poverty, too, which plays into immigration. One of the things that I've been talking about is one of the key components to addressing immigration has to be how well our neighbors are doing to the south. We need a strong Central America, we need a strong Mexico, in order to really help with the issue of immigration and also making opportunities more readily available in those countries. … He got to it."
"I WILL CARRY POPE FRANCIS' WORDS WITH ME AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THAT LAY BEFORE US...REFORMING OUR BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM, ERADICATING POVERTY AND ENSURING THAT ALL HAVE A VOICE IN OUR NATION'S DEMOCRACY." Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas
Francis' remarks on immigration became a defining message for many.
Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat from El Paso, along the southern border, said his favorite line of the speech was, "We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners."
Lisette Moreno, 31, of Dallas lined up at the Ellipse at 9 the night before to get a good view.
Having the pope pass right in front of her "was very emotional," she said.
A "DREAMer" — someone brought to the U.S. illegally as a child who hopes to remain — Moreno will also see the pope Thursday in the House chamber as a guest of Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, when the pope speaks to a joint session of Congress
"It was very emotional," she said of having the pope go by right in front of her. A "DREAMer" – someone brought as a child to the U.S. illegally and who hopes to remain – Moreno will also see the pope Thursday in the House of Representatives chamber as a guest of Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, when the pope speaks at a joint session of Congress.