Immigration Reform Quotes - Page 2

• I'm not sure we will have every single Democrat ... but we want a large number of Republicans to be able to vote for this bill because we think that will encourage the House not only to move forward but to pass a bill.

  Charles Schumer

  Moving, Thinking, Numbers

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• I think on this issue more than any other we're going to see sort of a bipartisan longing to get something done, and hopefully you're not going to find the fisticuffs that you would find on lots of other issues. I think you'll be able to glean a sense of progress without us revealing the specifics.

  Charles Schumer

  Thinking, Issues, Progress

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• Reforms to our complex and dysfunctional immigration system should not in any way favor those who came here illegally over the millions of applicants who seek to come here lawfully. Additionally, the framework carves out a special exception for agricultural workers that has little justification.

  Mike Lee

  America, Safety, Goal

  "On Senate Immigraton Proposal, Bipartisan Sponsors Claim Momentum For Uphill Battle" by Elise Foley, www.huffingtonpost.com. January 28, 2013.

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• I intend to have protections for the L.G.B.T. community in there. I'm not going to make choices between that community and the non-L.G.B.T. community.

  Patrick Leahy

  Choices, Community, Immigration

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• I'd like something that faces reality. We have 12 million people in this country that are undocumented - that's a reality. It's not going to be like they're all going to leave. One of the reasons I'm holding this hearing in the morning is to hear from somebody who actually understands what's involved here - Janet Napolitano - and I hope that from what she says and what we hear from her, we can start building some consensus.

  Patrick Leahy

  Country, Morning, Reality

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• I do feel immigration will probably be dealt with as long as [the solution] doesn't provide amnesty ... Five years ago, all hell broke loose ... This year, I thought phones would ring off the hook again. They really haven't. I think everybody realizes we have a problem.

  Johnny Isakson

  Thinking, Phones, Years

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• We believe that people should wait their time, and people should be able to be accepted here - over a million a year - in an orderly process, not a disorderly process, and that we should not be rewarding those who violate the law, and making even harder for those who try to comply with the law.

  Jeff Sessions

  Believe, Years, Law

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• There seems to be a lot of momentum behind immigration reform.

  Justin Amash

  Immigration, Reform, Momentum

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

  David Vitter

  Immigration, Reform, Recipes

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• Amnesty will not help balance our budget ... In fact, a large-scale amnesty is likely to add trillions of dollars to the debt over time, accelerate Medicare's and Social Security's slide into insolvency and put enormous strain on our public-assistance programs.

  Jeff Sessions

  Balance, Immigration, Dollars

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• 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

  Thinking, Years, Law

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• 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

  Guarantees That, Uncharted Waters, Immigration

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• 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

  Believe, Immigration, Reform

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• Beyond budget fights, the Obama second-term agenda was supposed to be about passing comprehensive immigration reform.

  Juan Williams

  Fighting, Immigration, Reform

  "Gun Action Central to Obama's Presidency". www.realclearpolitics.com. January 18, 2013.

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• There's a lot of overconfidence about this bill. We're going to expose it. It will not pass.

  Jeff Sessions

  Immigration, Bills, Overconfidence

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• Our timing is right... The election results are still fresh in the minds of my Republican colleagues and they don't want to go through this again.

  Dick Durbin

  Mind, Immigration, Election Results

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• This isn't all going to be done in one day, either.

  Jeff Flake

  One Day, Immigration, Done

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

  Tom Harkin

  Immigration, Reform, Had Enough

  "Moderate Dems coy on immigration debate". www.politico.com.

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• I am confident - very confident - that if I help solve this problem in a way that we won't have 20 million illegal immigrants 20 years from now, not only will I get re-elected, I can look back and say I was involved in something that was important.

  Lindsey Graham

  Years, Important, Immigration

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• 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

  Party, Thinking, Broken

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• From a policy point of view, I don't think it's the right approach. I don't like the idea of having millions of people here for their entire life without being able to assimilate into America...From a political point of view, we've got 55 Democrats sent and a 72 percent support for a path to citizenship. It's just not practical to think we'll be able to pass any bill in the United States Senate without a path to citizenship.

  Lindsey Graham

  Thinking, Views, Ideas

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• There will never be a bill without a pathway to citizenship signed by the president...And in turn there will never be a pathway to citizenship without a new immigration system replacing the current one.

  Lindsey Graham

  President, Pathways, Immigration

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• I'm also particularly pleased that there is bipartisan support to include the input of border communities. Not only will security be strengthened according to Washington, D.C., but border communities will have a say as well.

  Jeff Flake

  Support, Community, Immigration

  "Who Are the Gang Of 8 in Senate Immigration Debate?" by Mary McGuire, abcnews.go.com. January 30, 2013.

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• These are people who wanted to provide for their family and wanted a better life. We've got to have a secure border. But we've also, we've got to act compassionately and recognize labor markets as well. ... I've never thought that it's [path to citizenship] a bad thing. If somebody is going to be here for 20, 30 years, to give them some skin in the game, if you will, to hold out the prospect of citizenship.

  Jeff Flake

  Years, Games, People

  "Jeff Flake: Marco Rubio key on immigration". www.politico.com.

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• It's going to take a while for some of these things.

  Jeff Flake

  Immigration

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