President Obama. (photo: Getty Images)
03 December 14
e are a nation of immigrants.
For more than 200 years, that heritage has given
America a big advantage over other countries. It has kept us young,
dynamic, and entrepreneurial. But today, our immigration system is
broken.
When I took office, I committed to fixing our broken
immigration system. I began by doing what I could to secure our borders.
Today, we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our
southern border than at any time in our history.
Over the past six
years, illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half.
Although this summer, there was a brief spike in unaccompanied children
being apprehended at our border, the number of such children is now
actually lower than it's been in nearly two years. Overall, the number
of people trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest level
since the 1970s.
Meanwhile, I worked with Congress on a comprehensive
fix, and last year, 68 Democrats, Republicans and Independents came
together to pass a common-sense, compromise bill in the Senate. That
bill would have secured our border, while giving undocumented immigrants
who already live here a pathway to citizenship if they paid a fine,
started paying their taxes, and went to the back of the line.
Independent experts said it would grow our economy, and shrink our
deficits.
Had the House of Representatives allowed a yes-or-no
vote on that kind of bill, it would have passed with support from both
parties. Today it would be the law. But for a year and a half,
Republican leaders in the House have refused to allow that simple vote.
I still believe that the best way to solve this
problem is by working together with both parties to pass that kind of
bipartisan law. But until that happens, there are actions I have the
legal authority to take as president – the same kinds of actions taken
by Democratic and Republican president before me – that will help make
our immigration system more fair and more just.
I took those actions last week. We're providing more
resources at the border to help law enforcement personnel stop illegal
crossings, and send home those who do cross over. We'll focus
enforcement resources on people who are threats to our security –
felons, not families. And we'll bring more undocumented immigrants out
of the shadows so they can play by the rules, pay their fair share of
taxes, pass a criminal background check, and get right with the law.
Nothing about this action will benefit anyone who has
come to this country recently, or who might try and come to America
illegally in the future. It does not grant citizenship, or the right to
stay here permanently, or offer the same benefits that citizens receive.
And it's certainly not amnesty, no matter how often the critics say it
is. Amnesty is the immigration system we have today, where millions of
people live here without paying their taxes, or playing by the rules.
The actions I took this week will finally start fixing that.
Over the past week, you may have heard some members of
Congress question my authority to make our immigration system work
better. I have one a simple answer for them: Pass a bill. The day I sign
an immigration reform bill into law, the actions I've taken to help
solve this problem will no longer be necessary.
In the meantime, we can't allow a disagreement over a
single issue to be a dealbreaker on every issue, and we can't afford
another government shutdown. That's not how our democracy works. This
debate deserves more than politics as usual. It's about who we are, and
the future we want to build.
We are only here because this country welcomed our
forebears, and taught them that being American is about more than what
we look like or where we come from. What makes us Americans is our
shared commitment to an ideal, that all of us are created equal and all
of us have the chance to make of our lives what we will. That's the
country we inherited, and it's the one we have to leave for future
generations.
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