Speech #1140007113

The President acted when he had waited for a couple of years to see if Congress would actwaited for the House of Representatives to take up the bill we passed. He had to act. This is almost like "Alice in Wonderland." The Republican leadership refuses to act on the immigration bill and then they get mad because the President. who has to take responsibility for this country. acts. They now want to put at risk the very operations of the agency charged with enforcing the immigration laws in question and blame it on the President because they failed to act. This is "Alice in Wonderland." I know Republicans object to the Presidents Executive action. We spent hours hearing their complaints last week as the Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to be considering the qualifications of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General. It had nothing to do with her but they wanted to vent for the cameras. It went on until the cameras were turned off. I would say that instead of complaining about what they failed to do and complaining about what the President does to protect this country. why dont they offer some meaningful solutions for fixing our broken immigration system. A good place to start would be the comprehensive immigration bill we passed last Congress by a vote of 6832. There was plenty in that bill I did not like but it included meaningful reforms to all aspects of our immigration system that was negotiated and improved through the full committee process and that is what made it a real compromise. Now. instead of voting on that bipartisan compromise or other alternative solutions. all we see are attempts to undermine any efforts at comprehensive reform. By blocking all alternatives. the Republicans are keeping us locked in a status quo that hurts our economy. makes us less safe and pulls families apart. The Presidents Executive action is a positive step to toward keeping our communities safe because it requires DHS to prioritize the deportation of dangerous criminals. And it encourages those immigrants with longstanding ties to our communities who do not pose a danger to register with the government and come out of the shadows. Law enforcement officers and victims advocates tell us the Presidents Executive action will make our communities and families safer because people will not hesitate to call the police for fear of being deported themselves. Business leaders. economists and labor leaders tell us it will grow our economy and increase wages for all workers. It will level the playing field for American workers and raise revenues by more than $22.6 billion over 5 years. Immigration and constitutional law experts have concluded that it is constitutional and the President acted within his authority. Mayors from 33 major cities across the country who work every day to make our communities safe and our businesses flourish. have said the Executive action will fuel growth in local economies. increase public safety. and facilitate the integration of immigrants. These are not political partisans. They are frontline leaders who understand the daily problems posed by our broken immigration system. They are telling us that we must act. And until we do. they are supportive of the temporary steps the President has taken. House Republicans have said their proposal will bolster border security in a way the Presidents Executive actions did not but those claims ignore reality. Border security has become a game of who can develop the most outlandish. unrealistic proposals. Roundtheclock drone surveillance. Doubling the border patrol. Waiving all environmental laws. Requiring DHS to prevent every last undocumented person from crossing the southern border. These proposals are not serious. They never worked in the past.