DPG Chair Issues Statement on President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

Release:  Friday, November 21, 2014         

 

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Issues Statement on President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s address to the nation announcing his immigration executive action.

 

“Last night, the President—acting within legal authority—laid out decisive, commonsense measures to fix what we all know is a broken immigration system. Over the last half-century, each of his predecessors—Democrat and Republican—have used this legal authority to act on immigration.

 

“Congress has sat on its hands for too long, and it’s up to them to pass a comprehensive bi-partisan bill. But, we commend President Obama, who had the vision and fortitude to act for the betterment of us all—allowing those with a dream to hope again.

 

“President Obama’s actions are designed to ensure that everyone in this country plays by the same rules, stops tearing families apart, and brings hard-working people out of the shadows and into our workforce—allowing them to contribute to our economy and support their families.

 

“This isn’t a radical notion—the idea that if you come to America with your hopes and dreams, abide by our laws, and work as hard as you can, the possibilities are limitless. This notion is how our country has been shaped for hundreds of years, and this notion is why most of us live in this great nation today.

 

“For our country’s and state’s sake, I urge Republicans in Congress to work with the President to continue to make America the paragon of progress in the world once again.”

 

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BACKGROUND

 

The White House – Immigration Action

 

Three critical elements of the President’s executive actions are:

 

• Cracking Down on Illegal Immigration at the Border: The President’s actions increase the chances that anyone attempting to cross the border illegally will be caught and sent back.  Continuing the surge of resources that effectively reduced the number of unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally this summer, the President’s actions will also centralize border security command-and-control to continue to crack down on illegal immigration. 

 

• Deporting Felons, Not Families: The President’s actions focus on the deportation of people who threaten national security and public safety. He has directed immigration enforcement to place anyone suspected of terrorism, violent criminals, gang members, and recent border crossers at the top of the deportation priority list.

 

• Accountability – Criminal Background Checks and Taxes: The President is also acting to hold accountable those undocumented immigrants who have lived in the US for more than five years and are parents of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents.  By registering and passing criminal and national security background checks, millions of undocumented immigrants will start paying their fair share of taxes and temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation for three years at a time.