Washington, DC – Tonight, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) released the following statement following President Obama’s address to the nation where he outlined the Immigration Accountability Executive Actions he will be taking, within his executive authority, to improve our nation’s broken immigration system.

“Tonight, President Barack Obama laid out the actions his administration will take to fix our nation’s deeply broken immigration system while urging Congress to do its job by acting through legislation.  The President’s Immigration Accountability Executive Actions will secure our borders, prioritize deporting felons not families and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass criminal background check and pay taxes.

For the past half century, every President—Democratic or Republican—has used his legal authority to act on immigration.  President Obama is now taking an important commonsense step forward to fix our broken immigration system. These executive actions ensure accountability and that everyone plays by the same rules. While legislative action is always preferable, House Republicans have ignored this dire problem for too long while our families, communities, and local and national economies have paid a steep price for this reckless inaction.

While the nation waits for Republicans to pass comprehensive immigration reform, President Obama is doing the right thing by acting within the constitutional confines of his authority to make practical steps to prioritize enforcement and provide a way forward for hard-working immigrant families.  

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Click here to learn more about President Obama’s Immigration Accountability Executive Actions