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Garza on Immigration Reform: No One Said It Would be Quick or Easy

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Garza on Immigration Reform: No One Said It Would be Quick or Easy

(Washington, D.C.) – Today President Obama announced a shift of federal resources away from interior enforcement of immigration law, to border protection. The president also said that he has been informed by Speaker John Boehner that the House of Representatives will not vote on comprehensive immigration reform this year. The White House will announce additional executive actions in the weeks ahead. In a statement this afternoon, Speaker Boehner argued that the president’s unilateral actions have made it harder to achieve bipartisan reform, and have at times made problems worse.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:

“It’s important and valuable for the president to take steps that are legitimately within his authority to secure the border and enforce the laws of this country. Hopefully the steps announced today will be grounded in the law and implemented in a transparent way – so they are not struck down by the courts, and do not produce the unintended negative consequences we have seen before.

The fact is, unilateral executive actions are by their nature temporary, and they cannot take into account the varying interests and solutions that emerge through a deliberative process. For those reasons, they will not bring a long-term fix for our broken immigration system. They do not lift the responsibility from Congress – which has failed to act – or from the White House to build support for legislative action. Reform supporters must continue to reach across the aisle and work together to identify bipartisan reforms that can be enacted. The American people expect their elected officials in Washington to address priorities like this. No one said it would be quick or easy.”

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581 or Steven Cruz, 202-578-6173.

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