Freshman congressman discusses immigration, gaining citizenship, DACA and Yucca Mountain

Congress is heading into the end of the year with a full slate of priorities, from nuclear waste to tax reform, and Nevada’s Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen says immigration should be on that list.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is phasing out, and while President Donald Trump seems to be working with Democrats to find a solution, it’s unclear whether his push for a border wall will block a deal on DACA.

Meanwhile, this fall, the House is expected to take up a nuclear waste reform bill tied to the long-proposed Yucca Mountain repository. Tax reform talks are also heating up, with some lawmakers U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-nev.

pushing for action before the year ends, and health care is again at the forefront as Republicans work to pass a bill before Sept. 30, when budget rules require more votes than the bill is likely to receive.

Kihuen, who became a citizen in 2004 and whose district includes Nye County where Yucca Mountain is located, spoke with the Sun about DACA, the DREAM Act, Yucca Mountain, health care and bipartisanship in Congress.

How did your family immigrate to the U.S.?

I was born in Mexico, in Guadalajara. We came here with visas, so we actually didn’t come here undocumented.

Like 40 percent of undocumented immigrants in this country, we overstayed our visa, but back then there was a way to get legal resident status. And we did, thanks to Ronald Reagan’s immigration reform. We waited the five years you have to wait as a green card holder, and then we became citizens.

I hear all the time, ‘Why aren’t people just doing it the right way? My ancestors did it the right way.’ Well, yeah, back when the system used to work. Today, it doesn’t work that way. My family didn’t make the sacrifice to the extent that other people did, where they actually risked their lives crossing the Rio Grande and the desert with no water. Right now, if you want to do it the right way, it’s going to take you over 20, 25 years.

What should immigration reform look like?

Border protection, passing a background check, learning English, standing in the back of the line and paying any back taxes and a fee — all of that,

DAVID BECKER / LAS VEGAS NEWS BUREAU Freshman Congressman Ruben Kihuen, D-nev., speaks Sept. 15 during the El Grito ceremony kicking off Mexican Independence Day festivities at The Forum Shops at Caesars. Kihuen, who came to the United States from Mexico as a child and gained U.S. citizenship under legislation signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, is passionate about the need for immigration reform.