Rep. Chu Votes Against Bill to Curb Executive Authority

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) voted against H.R. 5759, the “Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act of 2014.” The bill would restrict President Obama or any future president from using their legal authority to set national deportation priorities and defer the removal of certain unlawfully present individuals. In turn, it would make it more difficult for immigrant families to stay together. Rep. Chu, who spoke against the bill on the House floor, released the following statement:

“The House Republicans have had more than 500 days to vote on bipartisan immigration reform, which they know would pass if brought to the floor. But instead, we get only distractions, political attacks, and attempts to weaken an already broken immigration system. Today’s bill is only the latest attempt and actually sets back immigration reform efforts. The President’s legal and moral action would require background checks and increase tax revenue by making clear what we already know: deporting hard working immigrants with roots in our communities should not be our priority. The President took limited action because the Republicans refused to take any. It’s time that they join the rest of us in working on a comprehensive bill to fix our broken immigration system.”

H.R. 5759 passed in the House by a vote of 219-197-3.