Polis Applauds President's Bold Action on Immigration Reform

Statement

Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) released the following statement applauding President Barack Obama's announcement that he will take executive action on immigration reform:

"The President displayed strong leadership Thursday evening as he announced new executive action that shifts the prosecutorial focus to locking up and deporting real criminals, keeping America safe and strong, rather than tearing apart families who love this country.

"It has been more than 500 days since the Senate overwhelmingly passed bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that secures our borders, restores the rule of law, creates millions of jobs, and would reduce the deficit by nearly $1 trillion. I have moved dozens of times to bring up HR 15, the bipartisan House companion bill, on the House floor, but each time my request has been rejected by House Republicans. Like many, I would prefer Congress to act on immigration reform and address our broken system in a comprehensive way, but the Republican leadership has time and time again been unable or unwilling to break the stranglehold of the extreme anti-immigrant wing of their party.

"I look forward to the President's executive action being implemented and hope that the millions of people living in the shadows, who in many cases remember no other home, can rest a little easier knowing that we will now be going after real criminals, not people simply trying to raise a family and make an honest living. While this is an important step forward, I will continue working tirelessly to bring up comprehensive immigration reform in the House that will secure our border, strengthen our economy, and keep families together."

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