Quotes & Sayings About Immigration Reform

We need to decouple the movement for comprehensive immigration reform and justice for immigrants from the legislative process and from the Democratic Party process. They are too linked. — Luis Gutierrez

Even if we didn't have a single person in the USA in violation of immigration laws, we'd still have to do immigration reform, because our legal immigration system is broken. It's not good for anybody. — Marco Rubio

This bill [Immigration Reform and Control act of 1986] is a gamble, a riverboat gamble. There is no guarantee that employer sanctions will work or that amnesty will work. We are headed into uncharted waters. — Charles Schumer

Conservatives have always wanted border security before we had immigration reform. — Rand Paul

You reduce illegal immigration by making it harder to get jobs here, or easier to get jobs south of the border. This idea that we can't pass an immigration law until we hit some imaginary security target is just a way to derail reform. — Gail Collins

Ted Cruz said he wanted to find a compromise. Ted Cruz said he wanted to bring 11 million people out of the shadows. Ted Cruz said that he wanted immigration reform to pass. Here's the bottom line. I tried to solve a very difficult issue, and we tried to produce the best and most conservative bill possible in a Senate controlled by Harry Reid at the time, and then send it over to the House and have them, conservatives, make it even better. — Marco Rubio

Waiting for a long-term solution to immigration reform will not make Americans safer. — Bruce Braley

Obama wants to raise the issue of immigration reform so that he can demonize Republicans as anti-Hispanic. That's why Obama ignores the broad support for an immigration plan that would provide border security once and for all and then deal with the illegal immigrants who live here. — Ben Shapiro

I recently spoke with Barbara Jordan of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, and I increasingly believe we need a system to verify employment eligibility. The Commission's recommendation of a national registry may be the way to go. — William J. Clinton

I don't think it was progressive to vote to give gun makers and sellers immunity. I don't think it was progressive to vote against Ted Kennedy's immigration reform. — Hillary Clinton

Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades. And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill their dreams - to study, invent, and contribute to our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone. So let's get immigration reform done this year. — Barack Obama

Days after setting off the bomb, the duo murdered a young MIT police officer during their attempted escape, and two years earlier Tamerlan and another Muslim immigrant slit the throats of three Jewish men on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attack - which I believe was also the work of immigrants. CNN headline after the attack: "Boston Bombing Shouldn't Derail Immigration Reform."32 Leaving aside the wanton slaughter, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan were tremendous assets to America. They were on welfare and getting mostly Fs in school. Good work, U.S. immigration service! — Ann Coulter

Why don't we hear more about and from Asians when it comes to race in America? Are Asians the new Invisible Man - there but not there? In some ways, yeah. Blacks and whites are always carping about the metrics of racism. And any conversation about immigration reform is immediately flipped into a referendum on Hispanics. — John Ridley

It's a significant contribution if we can get immigration reform done. — Julian Castro

It is vitally important that we implement immigration reform. We need a bill that strengthens our borders and protects this nation, but that also makes it simpler for good people to become Americans. — Dave Reichert

Our immigration system is a broken system that needs to be fixed. We need reform that provides hardworking people of good character with a real path towards citizenship. — Joe Baca

I still passionately support comprehensive immigration reform legislation with a path to full and equal citizenship. — Hillary Clinton

I think comprehensive immigration reform while securing your border and dealing rationale with 11 million is the only way we're going to solve this problem. — Lindsey Graham

Moreover, from reforming the tax code to our immigration system, to commonsense legal reform, President Bush put America on notice that he will continue fighting to make the country, and the world, a better place for future generations. — Jim Sensenbrenner

Sen. Robert Menendez's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 would try to nullify every single state and local law that fights illegal immigration. Congressman Luis Gutierrez's CIR ASAP Act with over 100 Democratic co-sponsors does the same thing. — Russell Pearce

There are a lot of people who are eager to assign blame. I think we're [USA] eager to try and find some solutions. One thing that would help would be comprehensive immigration reform legislation. — Josh Earnest

I would argue that you're only going to get the conservatives, particularly a Republican House, to pass immigration reform if we, as conservatives, are reassured that the border is controlled and that we get to vote on whether the border is controlled. — Rand Paul

Part of comprehensive immigration reform is not just the path to citizenship for undocumented workers, but also the ability for families to be together. — Pramila Jayapal

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell needs to get business lobbyists in a car and drive them around with a gun to their heads for an hour, explaining: We can give you regulatory reform, OSHA reform, tax relief, tort reform. But if we give you immigration, we won't be in a position to give you anything else, ever again, and you'll have to take your chances with Nancy Pelosi. The Chamber of Commerce has got to learn: You can't have it all. — Ann Coulter

There seems to be a lot of momentum behind immigration reform. — Justin Amash

Together, undocumented people like me and our relatives, friends and allies wait for broader immigration reform, not just for Dreamers but also for undocumented workers of all ages and backgrounds who contribute to our economic security and prosperity. — Jose Antonio Vargas

The fact of the matter is, is that we need our borders secured. Certainly, we realize that there's going to have to be some kind of immigration reform, but I don't believe any of that's going to move forward until our border is secured. — Jan Brewer

I want to have a good vote in the Senate so we send the message that the Republicans and the Democrats are together in favor of immigration reform. — Bob Menendez

If our focus in immigration reform is exclusively on high-skilled or STEM immigrants, where do the rest of the millions yearning to join our ranks fit in? — Cedric Richmond

Reform immigration to make it easy for individuals to come over here, be documented, pay taxes - immigration reform is needed to state that its about work, its not about welfare ... Set up a grace period where they can get a work permit ... social security card so that they can pay income tax, social security, Medicare. — Gary Johnson

I marched with you in the streets of Chicago to meet our immigration challenge. I fought with you in the Senate for comprehensive immigration reform. And I will make it a top priority in my first year as President. — Barack Obama

On Immigration policy and reform [Republicans] are on the wrong side of the track ... They would have you believe that if they get into office, they are going to make sure that they are going to get rid of everyone in our society who was not born in America. — Maxine Waters

The time to fix our broken immigration system is now ... We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace ... But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America ... Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should. — Barack Obama

Immigration reform almost happened under President George W. Bush. Twice. And it was comprehensive. — Mark McKinnon

We can't go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status. We cannot forever have children who were born here - who were brought here by their parents when they were small children to live in the shadows, as well ... What's changed, honestly, is that there is a new appreciation on both sides of the aisle, maybe more importantly on the Republican side, that we need to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill. — John McCain

For some time, I've said this issue of comprehensive immigration reform is not just an issue about immigration or human rights or civil rights, it's about our economy. You take 11 million people from out of the dark and into the light. The think tanks have surmised that you are talking about trillions of dollars infused into the economy. — Antonio Villaraigosa

In terms of immigration, we're seeing a lot of Democrats and Republicans use the really elastic term, 'Comprehensive Immigration Reform,' and they don't totally understand what that means. For us in El Paso, it's part of a larger discussion about the nature of the border. — Beto O'Rourke

I believe the House of Representatives is exactly the place where immigration reform should take place. Our entire House is elected every two years. We're the people closest to the people. — Aaron Schock

Immigration reform is important in our country. We have a lot of employers over on the beaches that rely upon workers and especially in this high-growth environment, where are you going to get people to work to clean our hotel rooms or do our landscaping? We don't need to put those employers in a position of hiring undocumented and illegal workers. — Alex Sink

If we are going to solve the challenges we face, you need a President who will pursue genuine solutions day in and day out. And that is my commitment to you. We need immigration reform that will secure our borders, and punish employers who exploit immigrant labor; reform that finally brings the 12 million people who are here illegally out of the shadows by requiring them to take steps to become legal citizens. We must assert our values and reconcile our principles as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. That is a priority I will pursue from my very first day. — Barack Obama

Conservatism has always been about reforming government and solving problems, and that's why the conservative movement should lead on immigration reform. — Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio, I think, will be president some day. Whether 2016 is his time, time will tell. He embraced immigration reform. He seems to have backed off. I'll let him explain why. — Lindsey Graham

When it comes to immigration reform, now is the time ... I've never seen a better political environment ... I'm not doing immigration reform to solve the Republican Party's political problem. I'm trying to save our nation from, I think, a shortage of labor and a catastrophic broken system. — Lindsey Graham

Senator Marco 'amnesty' Rubio, while proponents of immigration reform say the Florida Republican was quick to retreat when the going got tough. — Donald Trump

Lost in much of the national debate about immigration reform is how Democrats ultimately stand to gain electorally with any legislation or executive action that would put the newly legalized residents on a path to voting. — Aaron Klein

I started getting more and more active around immigration reform because this was such a waste of lives, such a waste of potential, such a waste for our country not to have the human capital that we developed - geared toward improving our entire society. — Laurene Powell Jobs

Immigration reform is a must, an amnesty. So that's my position. I've been pushing that one since before it was popular. — Dick Mountjoy

I hope that Republicans in the House and Mr. Cantor will embrace that as part of immigration reform. — Dick Durbin

When a politician like Marco Rubio is willing to sacrifice his career defining immigration reform legislation solely to insure that gays and lesbians are denied equal protection under the law, we have to admit that we're under attack. This is not pragmatic politics at work. These are the policies of bias, exclusion and unfairness. — Harvey Fierstein

There is this kind of sense in the immigrant community, first we were going to do immigration reform, but then 9/11 happened. — Luis Gutierrez

I wish that the Democrats would put some effort into Social Security reform, illegal immigration's reform, tax reform, or some of the other real issues that are out there. — Jack Kingston

Going forward, as we work to strengthen our border in the interests of homeland security, we must also recognize the economic importance of immigration reform. — Dave Reichert

Liberals had tried convincing Americans to vote for them, but that kept ending badly. Except for Lyndon Johnson's aberrational 1964 landslide, Democrats have not been able to get a majority of white people to vote for them in any presidential election since 1948.13 Their only hope was to bring in new voters. Okay, fine. You won't vote for us, America? We tried this the easy way, but you give us no choice. We're going to overwhelm you with new voters from the Third World. As Democratic consultant Patrick Reddy wrote for the Roper Center in 1998: "The 1965 Immigration Reform Act promoted by President Kennedy, drafted by Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and pushed through the Senate by Ted Kennedy has resulted in a wave of immigration from the Third World that should shift the nation in a more liberal direction within a generation. It will go down as the Kennedy family's greatest gift to the Democratic Party."14 — Ann Coulter

Already we're seeing graduates of U.S. higher education going back to their home countries and contributing to societies there, where in the past they would have stayed in the U.S. and built new companies here. We have to have immigration reform that allows talented foreigners to become Americans. — David Malpass

While he was in Utah, Obama discussed immigration reform with leaders of the Mormon Church. Obama introduced the first lady. Then the church's president introduced HIS first lady. And his second lady. And his third, fourth, and fifth ladies. — Jimmy Fallon

I want immigration reform to pass, I want people to be able to come out of the shadows. — Marco Rubio

We can't really have a serious debate about reform on immigration if we don't have operational control of the border ... With the executive order out there, with the urgency of the threat, I think it's very likely that we'll get something passed, later this year. — Michael McCaul

Barak Obama said as much today talking about immigration. (imitating Obama) "I don't care what happens today. It is gonna happen. We are going to have comprehensive immigration reform. We're gonna have amnesty for these 11 or 12 million. It's gonna happen. You just wait." And that's the way they go about it. Defeat is not something that, in their minds, is lasting. — Rush Limbaugh

I don't want to stop legal immigration to this country. In fact, I would like to reform and increase immigration in some important ways. Our current immigration laws are upside down - they make it tough on the people we need to have here, and easy for the people we don't want here. This country is a magnet for many of the smartest, hardest-working people born in other countries, yet we make it difficult for these bright people who follow the laws to settle here. — Donald J. Trump

I'm for immigration reform. I think the system's horribly broken, and we need to do something about it. — Rand Paul

America draws tremendous strength from its diversity, which prompts the question, as Congress contemplates comprehensive immigration reform, why are some lawmakers aiming to curb diversity instead of promoting it? — Cedric Richmond

Comprehensive immigration reform would reduce the deficit and help grow the economy. — Scott Peters

Our immigration law sucks, and we need to redo the whole thing, comprehensive immigration reform. And what that's gonna be is anybody who wants to come and vote Democrat, we're gonna send 'em a limousine and bring 'em in. — Rush Limbaugh

I support lowering the level of legal immigration by a moderate amount at this time. Legal immigration reform must be based upon principles that are pro-family, pro-work, and pro-naturalization, retaining opportunities for family reunification as the levels are lowered. We must not let this issue become divisive in this country. — William J. Clinton

I thought that conclusion that we leaped to right after the election, that has been disproven statistically so many times, I don't know why Republicans would advocate that advocating for comprehensive immigration reform is somehow a political solution for the Republicans losing a percentage of Hispanics. I probably have less appetite for this than either the Senate or colleagues in the House, certainly the Democrats and most likely members of the Republican Conference. They are still wrestling with trying to get their education up to a level where they can actually advocate for policy. — Steve King

I swore an oath to uphold the laws on the books . Now, I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own. Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting. I promise you. Not just on immigration reform. But thats not how our system works. That's not how our democracy functions. Thats not how our Constitution is written. — Barack Obama

The majority of surveys throughout this Nation show that the American people are advocating for a comprehensive and realistic approach to immigration reform. — Raul Grijalva

It's going to take a while for some of these things. — Jeff Flake

Hard-working immigrant workers in this country deserve a real path to citizenship as a part of comprehensive immigration reform ... We will continue to work with the immigrant rights community and our allies in Congress to devise a truly comprehensive model that places immigrant and workers' rights at the head of the line. — John Sweeney

We wouldn't even be where we are had it not been that 70% of Hispanics voted for President Obama, voted Democratic in the last election. That caused an epiphany in the Senate, that's for sure. So all of a sudden we have already passed comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate. That's a big victory. — Barack Obama

Economic conservatives like immigration reform, and in fact, many of them supported the bill that John McCain and I put together in the Senate. — Chuck Schumer

NumbersUSA's work was critical to derailing the 2007 comprehensive federal immigration bill, which had, at that point, received the support of President Buch, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the high-tech industry, the Catholic Church, immigrant-advocacy organizations, and several industries reliant on immigration labor, including farming, food services, and construction. During the weeks leading up to the floor vote on the bill, NumbersUSA coordinated weekly phone calls with the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, mobilized its members to engage key senators, and provided those senators with information and arguments necessary to oppose the bill. Several actors, including pro-immigrant advocates, restrictionists, and members of Congress, have credited NumbersUSA with causing the collapse of the bill in the Senate. — Pratheepan Gulasekaram

Workers who come to the U.S. see their wages and their standard of living boosted sharply simply by crossing the border. That's a good thing, and one of the best arguments for immigration reform, even if you'll rarely hear a politician make it. — James Surowiecki

I still believe the momentum is there to accomplish comprehensive immigration reform, and I think there is a bipartisan coalition that would pass right now, a pathway to citizenship if Speaker Boehner lets it come to the floor. — Joaquin Castro

I believe immigration reform is a commitment of President Obama's government, especially since it gives him a chance to respond to the great demand expressed by U.S. Hispanic voters. — Enrique Pena Nieto

I hope I'll have the opportunity to debate how we reform and update our immigration system. I will relate my own story and that of the countless immigrants whose American Dream stories have helped build our country into the greatest nation in the world. — Ami Bera

I support concrete and progressive immigration reform based on three primary criteria: family reunification, economic contributions, and humanitarian concerns. — Jeff Bingaman

It's a campaign strategy. He's all about getting the votes. I support gay marriage too, but Obama only does things to stir the pot and get the votes in. Later on I bet you a shinny penny he is going to bring up immigration reform to cater to the Latino population and get his votes. He should [have] backed gay marriage a long time ago, not just now to get votes. He is fake, just like the rest of the politicos in this country. — Barack Obama

Immigration reform doesn't impact me personally; nothing my foundation works on does. But the truth is I have a long history of ties to Latin America. Some of my best friends are in Latin America. — Howard Graham Buffett

We must have sweeping, generous immigration reform, make existing law- abiding Hispanics welcome. Most are hard working family people. — Rupert Murdoch

The question for immigration reform is not if we'll get it done, it's when we'll get it done. It's going to get done. — Xavier Becerra

If immigration reform passes, it'll be a big victory for sanity - nobody really believes it's healthy for a country to have millions and millions of undocumented noncitizens living in the shadows. But it'll also be a sign that the Republican Party has gotten tired of letting the Tea Party push it around. — Gail Collins

Those life experiences that helped shaped my political beliefs are with me in every position I take and every vote that I cast - whether it be in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, or improving our nation's education system. — Mark Takano

I don't think that the Democrats are doing anything right. They certainly haven't delivered on the promise of creating more jobs for Latinos. They have not delivered on the promise of bringing immigration reform up to the forefront. They had a sitting president; they had both houses of Congress. They could have done something, but they did nothing. — Lionel Sosa

Laws are getting passed in states like Alabama that basically would punish American citizens who are 'harboring' people. Since the federal government hasn't been able to muster or to get comprehensive immigration reform passed, states are taking it upon themselves to police and enforce laws. — Jose Antonio Vargas

Our immigration policy should be driven by what is in the best interest of this great country and the American people. Comprehensive immigration reform will strengthen U.S. security and boost economic growth. — Charles B. Rangel

The time for common-sense immigration reform is now," Grayson said in a news release. "We must set forth a straightforward route to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants who already live in our communities, work for our businesses and want to give back to the country that they call home. — Alan Grayson

I ... now see a rare opportunity to push across the goal line much of the unfinished business of America: investing in our infrastructure and workers, universal healthcare, comprehensive immigration reform and scrubbing a tax code that's out of shape and behind the times. — Xavier Becerra

We have history as a guide, and history suggests that this brand of comprehensive reform ... is a recipe for failure. — David Vitter

I've always been for immigration reform; in 2007 I just didn't feel it had enough protections. — Tom Harkin

America deserves common sense immigration reform that reflects our interests and our values as Americans. — Hank Johnson

I actually think there are more Republicans than people realize who would be sympathetic to immigration reform in the rank and file. I think the lesson for Jeb Bush is politicians shouldn't write books with long lead times. — E. J. Dionne

I worry that the Senate is working to consider a series of little-noticed provisions in comprehensive immigration reform that may provide a pathway to a national ID card for all individuals present in the United States - citizens and noncitizens, — Rand Paul

As the American public continues to focus more intensely on illegal immigration and securing the nation's borders, the number of members of the House Immigration Reform Caucus continues to grow. — Virgil Goode

I've always said that the 1986 [Immigration Reform and Control] Act had a fourth leg [in addition to law enforcement, increased immigration and amnesty] to its stool which was wishful thinking. And that pattern of a four-legged stool was copied in the failed attempts to enact a second and bigger general amnesty for illegal aliens in 2006, 2007, and in the current year 2013. — Jan C. Ting

I've always believed that immigration reform is important, but it won't decide the White House in 2016. The most important issue for Hispanics - just like with all Americans - is the economy. If Republicans can do a better job of articulating positive, conservative policies to grow our economy, we will do better with Hispanics. — Raul Labrador

I absolutely advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. — Susana Martinez