Andy Barr: “The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. They want Congress and the President to work together in…”

“The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. They want Congress and the President to work together in a bipartisan manner to deliver real solutions to the problems facing our country, one of which is our broken immigration system. So it is profoundly disappointing that the President has decided to ignore the will of the American people and act unilaterally to provide legal status and work permits to millions of people who have violated our immigration laws and are living in the United States illegally. We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws, and so there is a right way to reform our immigration system and a wrong way. Bypassing Congress, ignoring the Constitution, and issuing a unilateral executive order is the wrong way. It is unfair to those who immigrated to this country legally for the President to fail to do his duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. The Constitution and the rule of law matter. Instead of issuing yet another overreaching executive order, the President should join good faith Congressional efforts to solve this problem. The House has already passed bipartisan legislation to secure our border, which is what my constituents tell me is the most important first step. So I call on the President to follow suit. Stop dividing the American people, follow the Constitution, and work through the legislative branch to reform our immigration system the right way. ____________________”