President Obama says he wants immigration reform done this year
His State of the Union address calls for “fixing a broken system.”
By James O’Shea
With House and Senate Republican leaders watching, President Obama raised the stakes on immigration reform in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night saying, “Let’s get immigration reform done this year.”
The president stated in full: “Finally, if we are serious about economic growth, it is time to heed the call of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders, and law enforcement – and fix our broken immigration system.
“Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have acted. I know that members of both parties in the House want to do the same.”
He said there was clear evidence that reform would help the economy.
“Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades. And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill their dreams – to study, invent, and contribute to our culture – they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone. So let’s get immigration reform done this year.”
His call came the day after The New York Times published an internal Republican House leadership document calling for limited immigration reform, with citizenship for those who came to America at an early age, the so called Dream Act children, and work visas for those who were older.
The Republican document was already under fire from conservative Republicans, who want to see the issue dismissed until after this year’s election.
There are an estimated 50,000 Irish undocumented in America.
The bipartisan bill passed the US Senate in 2013 and would have to be reconciled with the House version.
With House and Senate Republican leaders watching, President Obama raised the stakes on immigration reform in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night saying, “Let’s get
immigration reform done this year.”
The president stated in full: “Finally, if we are serious about economic growth, it is time to heed the call of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders, and law enforcement – and fix our broken immigration system. “Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have acted. I know that members of both parties in the House want to do the same.”
He said there was clear evidence that reform would help the economy.
“Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades. And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill their dreams – to study, invent, and contribute to our culture – they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone. So let’s get immigration reform done this year.”
His call came the day after The New York Times published an internal Republican House leadership document calling for limited immigration reform, with citizenship for those who came to America at an early age, the so called Dream Act children, and work visas for those who were older.
The Republican document was already under fire from conservative Republicans, who want to see the issue dismissed until after this year’s election.There are an estimated 50,000 Irish undocumented in America. The bipartisan bill passed the US Senate in 2013 and would have to be reconciled with the House version.
Here are the highlights from the 2014 State of the Union address:
Comments