Washington, Jul 1, 2010 -

Washington, D.C.- Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has issued the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s speech on immigration reform:

“President Obama did not present anything new to the American people. He offered plenty of platitudinous doublespeak in an attempt to mask his real intentions. The bottom line is the president still wants to grant people here illegally immediate legal status so they can stay. That has always been one of the major stumbling blocks to reform. That’s not reform-that’s surrender.

“If we once again legalize their status with no perceivable consequence, the message will be out that you can still come to the U.S. illegally with the hope of eventually being granted legal status. Illegal immigration will only increase, as it did after the 1986 amnesty, not diminish.

“Workplace enforcement and tough employer sanctions have in fact decreased under this administration, yet the president continues to advocate massive legalization while claiming this challenge can be met by simply adding more boots on the ground at the border. That is absurd. Discontinuing the economic and public benefit incentives for illegals must be included in any real reform.

“As the President perpetually blurred the lines between legal and illegal immigrants, it was frightening to hear the president suggest the intentional compromise of mandatory background checks conducted on applicants vying to enter the U.S. legally in order to decrease the backlog. His overall suggestion seemed to indicate he wants to make is easier for the out of control flood of people coming into this country by simply giving them a stamp of approval. That is not answer.

“All in all, the president offered no real solutions to immigration reform and this speech will be perceived around the world as another capitulation to the out of control flow of illegals flooding into this country.”

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