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Quigley Statement on President Obama’s Immigration Accountability Executive Actions

November 20, 2014

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement upon President Obama's speech outlining his Immigration Accountability Executive Actions:

"I applaud President Obama for using his legal authority to improve our broken immigration system and prevent the unnecessary deportation of millions of members of our community. The president's executive actions will prioritize our resources to remove those who pose a public safety threat instead of continuing our current ineffective, arbitrary and inhumane deportation policy, needlessly separating families in contradiction to our country's founding principles of fairness and justice. Every president since President Eisenhower has lawfully used executive authority to address immigration issues. President Obama's actions are consistent with his predecessors in both parties, who have routinely used their prosecutorial discretion to grant administrative relief to large categories of immigrants. This includes President Reagan's support for individuals fleeing political repression in Poland and President George H.W. Bush's expansion of the Family Fairness program that deferred the deportation of over one million people. While the president's actions are a crucial step in the right direction, it is important to remember that executive action is not enough, offering only a temporary remedy for a limited number of the undocumented immigrant community. Only Congress can provide the permanent solution necessary to fix our broken immigration system, and I will continue to fight for the bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform supported by an overwhelming majority of the American people."

Rep. Quigley has been a staunch advocate of comprehensive immigration reform throughout his time in Congress and has pushed Congress to pass a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.

He was a strong supporter of the DREAM Act, giving everyone born in the United States an opportunity to attend college or serve in the military. Rep. Quigley used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to highlight the need for Congress to protect undocumented immigrants from abuse in detention centers, reject unconstitutional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers and end a mandated detention bed quota that wastes millions of dollars annually.

Over the summer, he led a letter urging the president to take executive action to enact more human immigration deportation and detention policies. Most recently, Rep. Quigley joined a Congressional Equality Caucus roundtable discussion with undocumented LGBT advocates to emphasize the importance of including the LGBT immigrant community in the president's executive actions on immigration.

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Issues:Immigration