My fellow Americans, tonight, I’d like to talk with
you about immigration.
For more than 200 years, our tradition of
welcoming immigrants from around the world
has given us a tremendous advantage over other
nations. It’s kept us youthful, dynamic, and
entrepreneurial. It has shaped our character as a
people with limitless possibilities – people not
trapped by our past, but able to remake
ourselves as we choose.
But today, our immigration system is broken, and
everybody knows it.
Families who enter our country the right way
and play by the rules watch others flout the
rules. Business owners who offer their workers
good wages and benefits see the competition
exploit undocumented immigrants by paying
them far less. All of us take offense to anyone
who reaps the rewards of living in America
without taking on the responsibilities of living in
America. And undocumented immigrants who
desperately want to embrace those
responsibilities see little option but to remain in
the shadows, or risk their families being torn
apart.
It’s been this way for decades. And for decades,
we haven’t done much about it.
When I took office, I committed to fixing this
broken immigration system. And I began by
doing what I could to secure our borders. Today,
we have more agents and technology deployed
to secure our southern border than at any time
in our history. And over the past six years, illegal
border crossings have been cut by more than
half. Although this summer, there was a brief
spike in unaccompanied children being
apprehended at our border, the number of such
children is now actually lower than it’s been in
nearly two years. Overall, the number of people
trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest
level since the 1970s. Those are the facts.
Meanwhile, I worked with Congress on a
comprehensive fix, and last year, 68 Democrats,
Republicans, and Independents came together to
pass a bipartisan bill in the Senate. It wasn’t
perfect. It was a compromise, but it reflected
common sense. It would have doubled the
number of border patrol agents, while giving
undocumented immigrants a pathway to
citizenship if they paid a fine, started paying
their taxes, and went to the back of the line. And
independent experts said that it would help grow
our economy and shrink our deficits.
Had the House of Representatives allowed that
kind of a bill a simple yes-or-no vote, it would
have passed with support from both parties, and
today it would be the law. But for a year and a
half now, Republican leaders in the House have
refused to allow that simple vote.
Now, I continue to believe that the best way to
solve this problem is by working together to
pass that kind of common sense law. But until
that happens, there are actions I have the legal
authority to take as President – the same kinds
of actions taken by Democratic and Republican
Presidents before me – that will help make our
immigration system more fair and more just.
Tonight, I am announcing those actions.
First, we’ll build on our progress at the border
with additional resources for our law
enforcement personnel so that they can stem the
flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of
those who do cross over.
Second, I will make it easier and faster for high-
skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs
to stay and contribute to our economy, as so
many business leaders have proposed.
Third, we’ll take steps to deal responsibly with
the millions of undocumented immigrants who
already live in our country.
I want to say more about this third issue,
because it generates the most passion and
controversy. Even as we are a nation of
immigrants, we are also a nation of laws.
Undocumented workers broke our immigration
laws, and I believe that they must be held
accountable – especially those who may be
dangerous. That’s why, over the past six years,
deportations of criminals are up 80 percent. And
that’s why we’re going to keep focusing
enforcement resources on actual threats to our
security. Felons, not families.
Criminals, not
children. Gang members, not a mother who’s
working hard to provide for her kids. We’ll
prioritize, just like law enforcement does every
day.
But even as we focus on deporting criminals, the
fact is, millions of immigrants – in every state,
of every race and nationality – will still live here
illegally. And let’s be honest – tracking down,
rounding up, and deporting millions of people
isn’t realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise
isn’t being straight with you. It’s also not who
we are as Americans. After all, most of these
immigrants have been here a long time. They
work hard, often in tough, low-paying jobs. They
support their families. They worship at our
churches. Many of their kids are American-born
or spent most of their lives here, and their hopes,
dreams, and patriotism are just like ours.
As my predecessor, President Bush, once put it:
“They are a part of American life.”
Now here’s the thing: we expect people who live
in this country to play by the rules. We expect
that those who cut the line will not be unfairly
rewarded. So we’re going to offer the following
deal: If you’ve been in America for more than
five years; if you have children who are American
citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a
criminal background check, and you’re willing to
pay your fair share of taxes – you’ll be able to
apply to stay in this country temporarily, without
fear of deportation. You can come out of the
shadows and get right with the law.
That’s what this deal is. Now let’s be clear
about what it isn’t. This deal does not apply to
anyone who has come to this country recently. It
does not apply to anyone who might come to
America illegally in the future. It does not grant
citizenship, or the right to stay here permanently,
or offer the same benefits that citizens receive –
only Congress can do that. All we’re saying is
we’re not going to deport you.
I know some of the critics of this action call it
amnesty. Well, it’s not. Amnesty is the
immigration system we have today – millions of
people who live here without paying their taxes
or playing by the rules, while politicians use the
issue to scare people and whip up votes at
election time.
That’s the real amnesty – leaving this broken
system the way it is. Mass amnesty would be
unfair. Mass deportation would be both
impossible and contrary to our character. What
I’m describing is accountability – a
commonsense, middle ground approach: If you
meet the criteria, you can come out of the
shadows and get right with the law. If you’re a
criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter
the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught
and sent back just went up.
The actions I’m taking are not only lawful,
they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single
Republican President and every single
Democratic President for the past half century.
And to those Members of Congress who
question my authority to make our immigration
system work better, or question the wisdom of
me acting where Congress has failed, I have one
answer: Pass a bill. I want to work with both
parties to pass a more permanent legislative
solution. And the day I sign that bill into law, the
actions I take will no longer be necessary.
Meanwhile, don’t let a disagreement over a single
issue be a dealbreaker on every issue. That’s not
how our democracy works, and Congress
certainly shouldn’t shut down our government
again just because we disagree on this.
Americans are tired of gridlock. What our country
needs from us right now is a common purpose –
a higher purpose.
Most Americans support the types of reforms
I’ve talked about tonight. But I understand the
disagreements held by many of you at home.
Millions of us, myself included, go back
generations in this country, with ancestors who
put in the painstaking work to become citizens.
So we don’t like the notion that anyone might
get a free pass to American citizenship. I know
that some worry immigration will change the
very fabric of who we are, or take our jobs, or
stick it to middle-class families at a time when
they already feel like they’ve gotten the raw end
of the deal for over a decade. I hear these
concerns. But that’s not what these steps would
do. Our history and the facts show that
immigrants are a net plus for our economy and
our society. And I believe it’s important that all
of us have this debate without impugning each
other’s character.
Because for all the back-and-forth of
Washington, we have to remember that this
debate is about something bigger. It’s about
who we are as a country, and who we want to
be for future generations.
Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a
system where workers who pick our fruit and
make our beds never have a chance to get right
with the law? Or are we a nation that gives them
a chance to make amends, take responsibility,
and give their kids a better future?
Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of
ripping children from their parents’ arms? Or are
we a nation that values families, and works to
keep them together?
Are we a nation that educates the world’s best
and brightest in our universities, only to send
them home to create businesses in countries
that compete against us? Or are we a nation
that encourages them to stay and create jobs,
businesses, and industries right here in America?
That’s what this debate is all about. We need
more than politics as usual when it comes to
immigration; we need reasoned, thoughtful,
compassionate debate that focuses on our
hopes, not our fears.
I know the politics of this issue are tough. But
let me tell you why I have come to feel so
strongly about it. Over the past few years, I have
seen the determination of immigrant fathers who
worked two or three jobs, without taking a dime
from the government, and at risk at any moment
of losing it all, just to build a better life for their
kids. I’ve seen the heartbreak and anxiety of
children whose mothers might be taken away
from them just because they didn’t have the
right papers. I’ve seen the courage of students
who, except for the circumstances of their birth,
are as American as Malia or Sasha; students
who bravely come out as undocumented in
hopes they could make a difference in a country
they love. These people – our neighbors, our
classmates, our friends – they did not come here
in search of a free ride or an easy life. They
came to work, and study, and serve in our
military, and above all, contribute to America’s
success.
Tomorrow, I’ll travel to Las Vegas and meet with
some of these students, including a young
woman named Astrid Silva. Astrid was brought
to America when she was four years old. Her
only possessions were a cross, her doll, and the
frilly dress she had on. When she started school,
she didn’t speak any English. She caught up to
the other kids by reading newspapers and
watching PBS, and became a good student. Her
father worked in landscaping. Her mother
cleaned other people’s homes. They wouldn’t let
Astrid apply to a technology magnet school for
fear the paperwork would out her as an
undocumented immigrant – so she applied
behind their back and got in. Still, she mostly
lived in the shadows – until her grandmother,
who visited every year from Mexico, passed
away, and she couldn’t travel to the funeral
without risk of being found out and deported. It
was around that time she decided to begin
advocating for herself and others like her, and
today, Astrid Silva is a college student working
on her third degree.
Are we a nation that kicks out a striving, hopeful
immigrant like Astrid – or are we a nation that
finds a way to welcome her in?
Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a
stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger –
we were strangers once, too.
My fellow Americans, we are and always will be
a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once,
too. And whether our forebears were strangers
who crossed the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the
Rio Grande, we are here only because this
country welcomed them in, and taught them that
to be an American is about something more than
what we look like, or what our last names are, or
how we worship. What makes us Americans is
our shared commitment to an ideal – that all of
us are created equal, and all of us have the
chance to make of our lives what we will.
That’s the country our parents and grandparents
and generations before them built for us. That’s
the tradition we must uphold. That’s the legacy
we must leave for those who are yet to come.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless this
country we love.
No comments: