Barack Obama Quotes

Importantly, in several years when we have accomplished all of our enforcement and deportation goals and truly ended illegal immigration for good, including the construction of a great wall, which we will have built in record time. And at a reasonable cost, which you never hear from the government.

Based on my experience as a prosecutor in Miami, illegal immigration is one of the most critical issues facing this country. As a prosecutor, I felt the burden of it. I think what's important... is for the state and the federal government and for local governments to work together to do everything possible to control illegal immigration in a comprehensive way.

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

There's no doubt that the Donald Trump administration, part of the red meat that he ran on from the first day when he announced his candidacy was a very extreme anti-immigrant rhetoric that he kept up through the whole campaign - the wall, deportation, more detention. And I think that that particular piece of red meat, he's going to throw out every once in a while and try to - of all the commitments that he's made, this is the one that is most disturbing, because it's one that he will try to fulfill through his presidency.

The other thing I like, in fact, several months ago I introduced a bill to end the absurd catch and release policy where our government has been giving tickets, essentially, to people who enter illegally and then letting them go and show up of their own volition.

Texas has done a very good job of securing their borders with the help of the federal government. California has done a good job.

Laws are getting passed in states like Alabama that basically would punish American citizens who are 'harboring' people. Since the federal government hasn't been able to muster or to get comprehensive immigration reform passed, states are taking it upon themselves to police and enforce laws.

What person here illegally (and in his right mind), will go to the government, announce being here illegally (e.g. plead guilty), provide all sorts of information as to where that person lives etc. to get a work permit only to be a target for deportation in two years?

If our government has a policy, any political subdivision, that limits or restricts the enforcement of our immigration laws, we will sue them! And that suit will be $5,000 a day every day until that policy is changed! This law will be enforced.

The Federal Government does not control our borders as the law requires …. I haven’t received a response saying that the check is in the mail….When people illegally cross our borders that the Federal Government is supposed to control, the Federal Government should pick up the tab.

We need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, period.

The federal government is responsible for addressing how to address the status of the estimated 9 to 15 million people who are in the country illegally, but local and state law enforcement can be helpful partners in that regard.

Kansas and this country have been rewarding illegal immigration for a long time. Here in this state, that's going to stop the moment I take office.

We have a lot of folks who talk about immigration reform but haven't put their name on a bill.

Congress makes immigration law. It's that simple. That is how our system works.

According to federal data, there are at least 2 million, 2 million, think of it, criminal aliens now inside of our country, 2 million people criminal aliens. We will begin moving them out day one. As soon as I take office.

I forget what his name was, but Tucker Carlson said, "Well, look, do you think that anybody who wants to come into the country should be allowed?" He said, "Yes. Anybody who wants to come to America should be allowed to come to America. That's what America's for."

We have to do immigration reform while the pro-deportation crew is still reeling.

Now there's going to be some decisions [Donald Trump] is going to have to make as president regarding those folks, and I think what he's said let's first get all of the bad actors out of the country. And I think that's what's really important.

If they [mexicans] cross the border, I think, and they are violating the law, then that word criminal does connect with that violation, so if they're violating the law, I guess you can call them criminals. We call everybody else criminals that violate the law.

To the parents, basically, of the dreamers, which was DAPA. I understand, of course, the concern that a lot of folks have had with the number of deportations. But there again, I believe that the president [Barack Obama] has made an earnest attempt to address those issues.

I think an amnesty program... which is what the president (George W. Bush) has proposed... those are reasonable proposals.

I worked 30 years to try to restore respect for the rule of law because of Ronald Reagan's amnesty in 1986. And I don't want to let this go because somebody's heart got a little softer than it was before the election.

The Davis-Oliver bill will enhance cooperation with state and local authorities to ensure that criminal immigrants and terrorists are swiftly, really swiftly, identified and removed.

We for sure need to secure the border. I think we need to enforce the legal system. I'm not for amnesty, I'm not an advocate of the plans that have been pushed here in Washington... we need to find a way for people to have a legitimate legal immigration system in this country, and that doesn't mean amnesty.