Immigration Reform Quotes

• 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

  Country, Waste, Immigration

  "Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’ Wife, Gives First Interview Since Husband’s Death" by Dan Nakaso, www.huffingtonpost.com. April 12, 2013.

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• A good place to start is with the kids ... One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents. It is time to provide an opportunity for legal residence and citizenship for those who were brought to this country as children and who know no other home.

  Eric Cantor

  Country, Children, Mistake

  "Eric Cantor: Dreamers 'Should Receive Pathway To Citizenship'" by Elise Foley, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 02, 2013.

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• 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

  Dream, Country, Jobs

  Fifth Presidential State of the Union, delivered 28 January 2014

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

  Jeff Bingaman

  Support, Immigration, Reform

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• 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

  Sacrifice, Gay, Law

  "Don’t End the War on Terror" by Harvey Fierstein, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 28, 2013.

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

  Marco Rubio

  Government, Immigration, Reform

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• 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

  Country, Party, Believe

  "An Ethnic Map". Interview with David Brooks, opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com. May 8, 2013.

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• 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

  Years, Priorities, Challenges

  Barack Obama's Address to the League of United Latin American Citizens in Washington D.C., www.washingtonpost.com. July 8, 2008.

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• The future of the Republican Party, all the different folks looking to lead the Republican Party at the national level in the future, recognize we should do immigration reform.

  Grover Norquist

  Party, Immigration, Reform

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• The system isn't working when 12 million people live in hiding, and hundreds of thousands cross our borders illegally each year; when companies hire undocumented immigrants instead of legal citizens to avoid paying overtime or to avoid a union; when communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids -- when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children come home from school to find their parents missing, when people are detained without access to legal counsel. When all that's happening, the system just isn't working.

  Barack Obama

  Mother, Baby, Children

  Barack Obama's Addresse to the National Council of La Raza, www.washingtonpost.com. July 15, 2008.

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• I do not want two classes of citizens in this country. I want everybody to prosper. That's going to be a top priority.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Class, Two

  Democratic Debate in Austin, Tex., www.nytimes.com. February 21, 2008.

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• Number one, it is important that we fix the legal immigration system, because right now we've got a backlog that means years for people to apply legally. And what's worse is, we keep on increasing the fees, so that if you've got a hard working immigrant family, they've got to hire a lawyer; they've got to pay thousands of dollars in fees. They just can't afford it. And it's discriminatory against people who have good character, we should want in this country, but don't have the money. So we've got to fix that.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Character, Mean

  Transcript: Democratic debate in Austin, Texas, www.nytimes.com. December 2, 2008.

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• Estiven Rodriguez couldn't speak a word of English when he moved to New York City at age nine. But last month, thanks to the support of great teachers and an innovative tutoring program, he led a march of his classmates - through a crowd of cheering parents and neighbors - from their high school to the post office, where they mailed off their college applications. And this son of a factory worker just found out he's going to college this fall.

  Barack Obama

  Teacher, New York, Cheer

  Fifth Presidential State of the Union, delivered 28 January 2014

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• 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

  Commitment, Law, People

  Barack Obama's Remarks to NALEO, www.realclearpolitics.com. June 28, 2008.

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• 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

  People, Waiting, Dreamer

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

  Bruce Braley

  Long, Waiting, Immigration

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• 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

  Immigration, Reform, Borders

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• Instead of working to undo POTUS exec action, we need to workcollaboratively to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.

  Mazie Hirono

  Immigration, Reform, Needs

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• 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

  Thinking, President, Immigration

  "Sen. Graham on security of our nation's capital, 2016 plans; Sen. Sanders ready to challenge Hillary Clinton?". "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace, www.foxnews.com. April 19, 2015.

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• 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

  Utah, Leader, Church

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• 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

  Victory, President, Immigration

  Source: www.nbcnews.com

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• 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

  Country, Real, Hard Work

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• Number one, it is absolutely critical that we tone down the rhetoric when it comes to the immigration debate, because there has been an undertone that has been ugly. Oftentimes, it has been directed at the Hispanic community. We have seen hate crimes skyrocket in the wake of the immigration debate as it has been conducted in Washington, and that is unacceptable.

  Barack Obama

  Hate, Numbers, Community

  Democratic Debate in Austin, Tex., www.nytimes.com. February 21, 2008.

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• We have to stand up for these issues when it's tough, and that's what I've done. I did it when I was in the state legislature, sponsoring the Illinois version of the DREAM Act, so that children who were brought here through no fault of their own are able to go to college, because we actually want well-educated kids in our country who are able to succeed and become part of this economy and part of the American dream.

  Barack Obama

  Dream, Country, Children

  The California Democratic Debate in Los Angeles, www.realclearpolitics.com. January 31, 2008.

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• Partial legalization, as some are suggesting, is a dangerous path, and we need only look at France and Germany to see how unwise it is to create a permanent underclass.

  Zoe Lofgren

  Immigration, Germany, Needs

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