Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I very much want commonsense immigration reform to pass. This bill is going to pass the Senate. But, as written, this bill will not pass the House. As written, this bill will not pass into law. And if this bill did become law, it would not solve the problem--indeed, it would make the problem of illegal immigration that we have today worse rather than better. If you likewise want to see commonsense immigration reform pass, then you have reason to be both optimistic and pessimistic. You have reason for optimism because there is widespread bipartisan agreement on many aspects of immigration. Outside of Washington, DC, there is widespread bipartisan agreement that, No. 1, our current immigration system is broken, it is not working; No. 2, that we have to get serious about securing the borders, about doing everything we can to stop illegal immigration--that in a post-9/11 world it does not make any sense that we do not know who is coming into this country; we do not know their history; we do not know their background--and, No. 3, that we need to improve and streamline legal immigration, that we need to remain a Nation that does not just welcome but that celebrates legal immigration. On those basic principles there is widespread bipartisan agreement. If this body were to focus on those areas of bipartisan agreement, that is how we would get an immigration bill passed into law--not just by one Chamber of Congress but actually passed into law.…”