Whether they came from the West Indies, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Scandinavia, Poland, China or Japan, “you came from someplace else,” noted the President.
“Somebody brought you. … All those folks, before they were ‘us,’ they were ‘them,’ he added.
The President was outlining his immigration reform plan a day after a bi-partisan group of senators outlined theirs.
He urged, like many over the years, comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants, many of whom are also from the West Indies/Caribbean.
The President urged lawmaker to not let immigration reform get bogged down in an endless debate, since that’s been happening for a very long time.
He outlined a four part plan that he said he will push forth into Congress if they don’t act in a timely fashion on the bi-partisan Senate bill.
“And if Congress is unable to move forward in a timely fashion, I will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote on it right away,” said Obama.
His proposal calls for a continuation of his administration’s plans to strengthen the borders; to crack down on companies that hire undocumented workers; hold undocumented immigrants accountable before they can earn their citizenship by requiring undocumented workers to pay their taxes and a penalty, move to the back of the line, learn English, and pass background checks and streamlining the legal immigration system for families, workers, and employers.
See the President’s full remarks here:
