President Barack Obama hailed the Senate's passage of a sweeping comprehensive immigration reform bill on Thursday, beckoning the House of Representatives to act soon on its own immigration measures.
"Today, the Senate did its job. It’s now up to the House to do the same," Obama said in an unusually lengthy statement released shortly after the bill's passage Thursday afternoon.
The Senate's bill serves as an attempt at the most sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws in a generation, the first since President Ronald Reagan signed the "Immigration Reform and Control Act" into law in 1986.
It provides a 13-year path to citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the country, as well as various improvements in border security that must be in place before immigrants can gain legal status.
But it faces an unlikely path in the House, where Speaker John Boehner has said that he will not bring a bill to the House floor that does not have support from a majority of the Republican conference.
Obama urged supporters of immigration reform to "keep a watchful eye" on resistance as debate moves into the House.
"Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop commonsense reform from becoming a reality. We cannot let that happen," Obama said.
Here is Obama's full statement:
Today, with a strong bipartisan vote, the United States Senate delivered for the American people, bringing us a critical step closer to fixing our broken immigration system once and for all.
I thank Majority Leader Reid, Senator Leahy, Senator Schumer, and every member of the ‘Gang of Eight’ for their leadership, and I commend all Senators who worked across party lines to get this done.
The bipartisan bill that passed today was a compromise. By definition, nobody got everything they wanted. Not Democrats. Not Republicans. Not me. But the Senate bill is consistent with the key principles for commonsense reform that I – and many others – have repeatedly laid out.
If enacted, the Senate bill would establish the most aggressive border security plan in our history. It would offer a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are in this country illegally – a pathway that includes passing a background check, learning English, paying taxes and a penalty, and then going to the back of the line behind everyone who’s playing by the rules and trying to come here legally. It would modernize the legal immigration system so that it once again reflects our values as a nation and addresses the urgent needs of our time. And it would provide a big boost to our recovery, by shrinking our deficits and growing our economy.
Today, the Senate did its job. It’s now up to the House to do the same.
As this process moves forward, I urge everyone who cares about this issue to keep a watchful eye. Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop commonsense reform from becoming a reality. We cannot let that happen. If you’re among the clear majority of Americans who support reform – from CEOs to labor leaders, law enforcement to clergy – reach out to your Member of Congress. Tell them to do the right thing. Tell them to pass commonsense reform so that our businesses and workers are all playing by the same rules and everyone who’s in this country is paying their fair share in taxes.
We have a unique opportunity to fix our broken system in a way that upholds our traditions as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We just need Congress to finish the job.
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