Immigration and Border Security
As a border state, Arizona has suffered too long from federal inaction on our broken immigration system. Congress needs to pass comprehensive immigration reform that keeps families together, strengthens border security and addresses our labor and economic needs. Arizona’s farmers, ranchers and local businesses need an effective system to fill their labor needs. Our schools and universities need to educate children and DREAMers – young people who shouldn’t have to live in the shadows just because they were brought here by their parents. I have introduced legislation that expands employment opportunities for DREAMers, and I’ve cosponsored legislation that equips Border Patrol agents with more resources to protect our communities from criminal cartels and smugglers. And I will continue to fight for comprehensive immigration reform because it’s good for Arizona and our nation.
For more information concerning my work and views on immigration and border security issues, please contact me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
More on Immigration and Border Security
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., gave the following statement today in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 split decision in United States v. Texas. Without a full bench, the court’s deadlock means a Texas judge’s misguided injunction against DAPA, upheld by a conservative appeals court in Louisiana, leaves millions of families in limbo.
Senator John McCain called the President's action an "executive fiat" that fails to address the root problems of existing federal immigration policies.
"I agreed with President Obama last year when he stated that taking executive action on immigration was ‘not an option’ because it would amount to ‘ignoring the law in a way that I think would be very difficult to defend legally.’
Gov. Jan Brewer: "That President Obama refuses to visit our border, refuses to enforce our existing immigration laws and refuses to come to the table on an issue of such critical national safety and economic importance is a disgrace. We are a nation of laws, the most significant of which are written to ensure cooperation and balance among our branches of government."
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., released the following statement in response to the president’s announcement regarding executive action on immigration:
Arizona politicians react to President Obama's announcement that he will address immigration problems through executive action.
WASHINGTON – Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas believes there is “still a glimmer of hope” for immigration reform this year, a message he and other bishops tried to deliver to Congress Thursday.
Kicanas joined five clerics from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to celebrate a Mass on Capitol Hill before they fanned out to meet members of the House, where immigration reform has been stalled for almost a year.
“Our hope in Washington is to press Congress to see this as something that needs attention,” Kicanas said. “The system is broken and we have the means to fix it.”
Catholics attending Mass in cities across the country this weekend will be asked to voice their support for immigration reform.
But although Arizona is considered ground zero in the national immigration debate, there are no plans by Catholic leaders in Phoenix or Tucson to participate in the special appeals being made during Masses in other cities.
That has disappointed some local Latino leaders.
U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Flagstaff, answered questions from the Daily Sun Wednesday on immigration and the federal budget.
Q: There's a 10-year wait for green cards proposed for many immigrants as part of the immigration legislation. Do you support? Oppose?
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., released the following statement in response to the bipartisan Senate working group’s proposal on border security and immigration reform:
“Let’s seize this moment. It is good for Arizona. After years of stalemate, a bipartisan, common-sense effort is finally underway to solve a problem that reaches every corner of our nation.