DelBene Responds to President Obama’s Announcement on Immigration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene released the following statement reacting to executive actions announced by President Obama to improve our immigration system:

“Everyone agrees that our immigration system is broken, but after more than a year of refusing to act on immigration reform legislation, House Republicans have shown themselves to be unwilling to make progress on this important issue. Time and again, they have refused to bring meaningful legislation to a vote on the House floor. If Republican leaders allowed a vote on H.R. 15, the bipartisan bill that I helped introduce, it would likely pass by a strong majority.

“In light of House Republicans’ consistent failure to act on immigration reform, I understand President Obama’s decision to take reasonable steps to provide temporary relief to the families being torn apart by our current system. The Administration should focus its limited enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to public safety, not honor students and workers contributing to our economy. We must continue the critically important efforts to ensure a secure border and the deportation of dangerous criminals, and the President’s actions today are consistent with this priority.

“The only long-term solution to fix our broken immigration system is for Congress to fulfill its responsibility to pass legislation. My commitment to passing immigration reform remains unwavering, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve this goal.”

As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. DelBene has led efforts to enact comprehensive immigration reform and last fall, helped introduce the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act (H.R. 15), which currently has 200 bipartisan cosponsors.   

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