During a press conference at the White House on Monday, President Obama vowed to fix what he called, a truly “broken immigration system” alone through executive action. The President’s decision to act alone was prompted by a year of Republican inaction on immigration reform, in which House Speaker John Boehner confirmed that the Republican led House will not act on immigration this year.
President Obama accused House Republicans of giving in to extremist pressures in their party rather than putting the interests of the American public first. Although the President reaffirmed his commitment to encourage Republican action, he also noted that he takes “executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue and Congress chooses to do nothing.” He continued, “And in this situation, the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, it’s bad for our economy and it’s bad for our future.”
While the President was not specific about what executive action he would take, he announced his intention to work with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to identify all possible executive actions to slow deportations and fix the fractured immigration system. The President also noted he would shift some immigration enforcement resources to the U.S.-Mexico border. This announcement comes on the heels of his intent to petition Congress for $2 billion in order to address the growing humanitarian crisis at the border, which has been overwhelmed by an influx of unaccompanied migrant children fleeing from Central America.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a statement that said President Obama “is right to protect families from being torn apart.” The Majority Leader continued, “Our broken immigration system is one of the biggest challenges we face as a nation and Speaker Boehner knows that addressing it is the right thing to do, yet the Tea Party spooked him into cowering in a corner.”
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