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In June, the president announced that his administration would grant a two-year reprieve from deportation to some young illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and have otherwise been law-abiding residents.
In late 2011, the Obama administration curtailed deportations of illegal immigrants who don’t have criminal records, causing a significant drop in deportations. However, the administration has continued to focus on “criminal aliens,” and federal officials rounded up more than 3,000 suspected individuals during an operation in early April -- the largest roundup of its kind to date.
Deportations have doubled during his tenure compared with President Bush’s first term. In February, they were 30 percent higher than when Bush left office.
The Obama administration filed a federal lawsuit against Arizona to block the state from enforcing a rule it passed in 2010 that directs law-enforcement officials to ask for immigration papers on "reasonable suspicion" that a person might be an illegal immigrant and to make arrests for those not carrying ID papers. In June, the Supreme Court struck down several key parts of Arizona’s tough law, though it left that provision standing. However, the ruling also reinforced the federal government’s primacy in immigration policy.
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Obama on ImmigrationObama's Statements (60)
Good morning, everybody. Thank you, Secretary Napolitano, for being here to administer the oath --for making it official. Thank you, also, for leading our efforts to achieve comprehensive immigration reform so that America keeps faith with our heritage as both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.
To Director Mayorkas and all the dedicated folks at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, thank you for your help to these men and women, and so many of our troops, to realize their dreams of citizenship.
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Like so many others, these men and women met their responsibilities. They played by the rules. They have earned their citizenship. And so on a day like this, we are also reminded of how we must remain both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. This includes fixing America’s broken immigration system.
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And people who are in America illegally have a responsibility -- to pay their back taxes and admit responsibility for breaking the law, pay a penalty, learn English, pass criminal background checks, and get right with the law -- or face removal -- before they can get in line and eventually earn their citizenship.
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Now, it’s a controversial issue, but the truth is if you talk to most Americans they probably have a similar concept, and that is most Americans recognize we’re a nation of immigrants. Very few of you -- very few of you are Native Americans, which means most of you came here from someplace else -- or your families came here, your great-great-great grandparents came here from somewhere else. So we are a nation of immigrants. We were founded on immigration. That’s what that whole Plymouth Rock thing was about -- immigration. So we’re a nation of immigrants.
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So ever since I was campaigning here in Iowa, I’ve been saying the same thing. What I want is a system in which we secure our borders -- and by the way, this administration has made significant progress securing our borders -- we start cracking down on companies that are purposely hiring undocumented workers to undercut the wages of U.S. workers -- because the truth is as long as there are employers who want to exploit undocumented workers, pay them lower wages, no benefits, no overtime, et cetera, people are going to continue to come. I mean, we can try to build as many fences as we want at the border, but the fact is if folks are making $2 a day back home, and they can make $10 an hour here, they’re going to come here -- unless we make sure that employers are doing what’s lawful. So we’ve got to take that seriously.
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If we do those two things, though, we’re still going to have 11, 12, 13 million undocumented workers in this country. And not all of them are going to go home. I mean, you can -- this law that just passed in Arizona -- which I think is a poorly conceived law -- you can try to make it really tough on people who look like they, “might be illegal immigrants.” One of the things that the law says is local officials are allowed to ask somebody who they have a suspicion might be an illegal immigrant for their papers. But you can imagine, if you are a Hispanic American in Arizona -- your great-grandparents may have been there before Arizona was even a state. But now, suddenly, if you don’t have your papers and you took your kid out to get ice cream, you’re going to be harassed. That’s something that could potentially happen. That’s not the right way to go.
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So I understand the frustration of people in Arizona and the border states. We’ve ramped up border security. We’ve put in a lot of resources since I’ve become President. Our enforcement actions are up. And in fact, I’ve been attacked by immigration-rights groups for being too tough on that front. But obviously we’ve still got to do more, we have to do more, though, on the context of a comprehensive plan that maintains our status as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. And these kinds of shortcuts, I think, will end up polarizing the situation instead of solving the problem.
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You notice in the town hall meeting yesterday, those folks aren’t enthusiastic about illegal immigration. But when you lay it out for them, a sensible way of doing it, holding people who’ve broken the law responsible, securing our borders but also recognizing we’re not going to send millions of people back, many of whom have children who might be U.S. citizens, and that there should be a more sensible way of dealing with it -- people understand that.
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Remarks by the President at Reception Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
I’m also going to fight -- have been fighting and will keep on fighting for comprehensive immigration reform that respects our nation’s heritage. We have to respect our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. And that means that everybody is going to have to take responsibility. Government has a responsibility to secure the border and enforce laws. Washington has an obligation to set clear, common-sense rules, including rules that no longer punish and divide families that are doing the right thing and following the law. That’s why addressing the backlogs problem in our immigration system is an important part of reform. Business has to be held accountable when they exploit undocumented workers. Individuals who are here illegally, they have to take responsibility by paying a fine and back taxes, learning English, and going to the back of the line so that they take a legal path towards citizenship.
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But I understand the frustrations of folks in Arizona. The fact of the matter is, is that for decades we keep on talking about solving the problems of the border, and we don't. Truth of the matter is, is that you’ve got hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers coming over the border, and that gets people stressed. You’ve got employers who are exploiting undocumented workers all across America, actively recruiting them and often taking advantage of them when they get here.
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I’ve indicated that I don't approve of the Arizona law. I think it’s the wrong approach. I understand the frustrations of the people of Arizona and a lot of folks along the border that that border has not been entirely secured in a way that is both true to our traditions as a nation of law and as a nation of immigrants.
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This is a nation of immigrants. It was built on immigrants -- immigrants from every corner of the globe who brought their talent and their drive and their energy to these shores because this was the land of opportunity. Now, we’re also a nation of laws so we’ve got to make sure that our immigration system is orderly and fair.
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And so I think Americans have a legitimate concern if the way we’ve set up our immigration system and the way we are securing our borders is such where people just kind of come and go as they please, well, that means that folks who are waiting, whether it’s in Mexico City or in Nairobi, Kenya, or in Warsaw, Poland -- if they’re waiting there filling out their forms and doing everything legally and properly and it takes them five years or six years or 10 years before they’re finally here and made legal, well, it’s not fair to them if folks can just come and ignore those laws.
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Q All right. We’re all -- we all agree health -- there needs to be health reform, okay? We just moved out here a year ago from Las Vegas, okay? There are illegal immigrants that are getting free health care right now, okay? The doctor that we had, clinics and stuff, closed up because they couldn’t even afford to stay open because of all the illegal immigrants that were getting health care.
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Well, let me do this because -- I’ll answer this question and then I want to make sure everybody else gets a chance, too. But the -- no, I think this is important for me to be able to clear up some stuff. There’s no doubt that there are probably a number of hospitals in every major city, doctors in every major city, who are providing uncompensated care to a whole lot of people, including some illegal immigrants.
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One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.
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Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult. I know it will take time. But tonight, let’s agree to make that effort. And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation.
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In the United States of America, we have always shared these beliefs. Like you, we threw off the yoke of colonialism and established our independence in the New World. We, too, are a vast nation of immigrants from different backgrounds and cultures who find strength in our diversity, strength and unity in our national pride. And as the two largest democracies and economies in the Western Hemisphere, we share a belief that all human beings deserve the chance to shape their own destiny and fulfill their God-given potential.
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So with our partners from Colombia to Mexico and new regional initiatives in Central America and the Caribbean, we’re confronting this challenge, together, from every direction. We’ve increased our support -- the equipment, training and technologies -- that security forces, border security and police need to keep communities safe. We’re improving coordination and sharing more information so that those who traffic in drugs and in human beings have fewer places to hide. And we’re putting unprecedented pressure on cartel finances, including in the United States.
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Staying competitive also, of course, demands that we address immigration -- an issue that evokes great passions in the United States as well as in the Americas. As President, I’ve made it clear that immigration strengthens the United States. We are a nation of immigrants, which is why I have consistently spoken out against anti-immigrant sentiment. We’re also a nation of laws, which is why I will not waver in my determination to fix our broken immigration system. I’m committed to comprehensive reform that secures our borders, enforces our laws and addresses the millions of undocumented workers who are living in the shadows of the United States.
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As President Funes mentioned, we discussed immigration. President Funes is committed to creating more economic opportunities here in El Salvador so that people don’t feel like they have to head north to provide for their families. As I told the President, I remain firmly committed to comprehensive immigration reform in the United States.
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And if possible, , I would like to know about immigration, taking advantage of your presence here since we haven’t been able to talk to you before. We have about 25 percent or 30 percent of our population who are living illegally in the United States. So what are your short-term plans, President Obama? Are you going to lobby for comprehensive reform or temporary residence for the Salvadorans that are working with the TPS or that are living with a TPS who are there? Thank you.
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Specifically on immigration reform first, as I indicated in my remarks and as I said in my State of the Union speech, I continue to believe in comprehensive immigration reform. America is a nation of laws and it is a nation of immigrants. And so our job is to create secure borders, to make sure that we’re got a legal immigration system that is effective and is not frustrating for families, doesn’t divide families.
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But we also have to make sure that those who are in the United States illegally at this point, but in some cases have been there for a long time, in some cases have children who were born in the United States and are United States citizens, that they have a pathway to get right by the law. And several years ago we were able to craft a bipartisan consensus, at least in the United States Senate, around this issue. Senator John McCain, Senator Ted Kennedy had a comprehensive immigration reform bill that I supported and was a part of when I was in the Senate. And we were able to get it passed through the Senate, and we couldn’t get it passed through the House of Representatives.
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Of course, I believe that we also have to have an even more comprehensive reform of our immigration system. It’s broken right now. We have to have secure borders. We have to make sure that businesses are not exploiting undocumented workers, but we have to have a pathway to citizenship for those who are just looking for a better life and contributing to our country. And I’ll continue to fight for that.
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Well, first of all, temporary protective status historically has been used for special circumstances where you have immigrants to this country who are fleeing persecution in their countries, or there is some emergency situation in their native land that required them to come to the United States. So it would not be appropriate to use that just for a particular group that came here primarily, for example, because they were looking for economic opportunity.
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Let me talk about not only the DREAM Act but about immigration policy generally. And I want to thank -- Sheryl Sandberg actually participated in a discussion that we had yesterday, bringing together business leaders and government officials and faith leaders, a broad cross-section of Americans together to talk about how do we finally fix an immigration system that's fundamentally broken.
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So that's the DREAM Act. But that's just a small part of a broader challenge that we have. Immigration in this country has always been complicated. The truth of the matter is that we are both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. Sometimes the laws haven’t been fair. Sometimes the laws have been restrictive to certain ethnic groups. There have been quotas. Sometimes our immigration policies have been arbitrary and have been determined by whether industry at a particular time was willing to bring in workers on the cheap.
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So there’s a lot that we can do for making sure that high-skilled immigrants who come here, study -- we’ve paid for their college degrees, we’ve given them scholarships, we’ve given them this training -- let’s make sure that if they want to reinvest and make their future here in America that they can. So that’s point number one.
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But now we’ve got to protect the changes that we’ve made. We’ve got to -- we got some more changes we’ve got to make. We still got to pass comprehensive immigration reform -- so that we are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We still got to have a more comprehensive energy policy. We’ve got to keep moving forward. We have to keep working for the America that we believe in -- the America we want to leave to our children.
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I strongly believe we should fix our broken immigration system. Fix it so that it meets our 21st-century economic and security needs. And I want to work with Democrats and Republicans, yes, to protect our borders, and enforce our laws, and address the status of millions of undocumented workers. And I will keep fighting alongside many of you to make the DREAM Act the law of the land.
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The problem has to do with the existing law that had a very specific criteria for who gets the waiver visa system, and that criteria was based on the rejection rate of visas. Poland didn't qualify under that law and I could not simply waive the law. But what I’ve now done is put my support behind legislation in Congress that would change the criteria so that we're looking at the overstay rate of visas, and our expectation is, is that by this change in the law, we can be in a position to resolve this issue in a way that is satisfactory to Poland, but also meets the security concerns of the United States.
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We’ve still got to implement health care reform -- because there are a whole bunch of folks who want to undo what we’ve accomplished. We have not yet gotten immigration reform done. And we are a nation of immigrants as well as a nation of laws, and we’ve got to have a system that makes sure that every single person who wants to come here and become a part of the fabric of this society, that they have fair and legal and orderly ways that they can legally immigrate to this country.
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We still have not dealt with immigration in a serious way. And the fact of the matter is, historically we’re a nation of laws and we’re a nation of immigrants. And I have consistently said that there’s a way of reconciling what I think everybody recognizes is a problem of illegal immigration, but doing so in a way that’s true to our values so that we’re attracting the best and the brightest to stay here and to study here, and that young people understand that they’re welcome as a part of the American family.
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Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t have unfinished business. I promised you I would work tirelessly to fix our broken immigration system and make the DREAM Act a reality. And two months ago -- two months ago, I went down to the border of El Paso to reiterate -- (applause.) El Paso is in the house. To reiterate my vision for an immigration system that holds true to our values and our heritage, and meets our economic and security needs. And I argued this wasn’t just the moral thing to do, it was an economic imperative.
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We need to work short term and we’re going to need to work long term. Because, after we pass this jobs bill, we’re still going to have work to do. We’re still going to have to reform our education system. We’re still going to have to make sure that we’ve got an immigration system in this country that is fair -- and, yes, secures our borders, but also makes sure that folks who are here aren’t living in the shadows. We’ve still got to make sure that we have an energy policy that is smart for our pocketbooks and frees ourselves from dependence on foreign oil -- and make sure that we’re doing something about climate change.
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MR. SIADE: Very well. Let's jump into the first question -- from Claudia in California: President Obama, there are many illegal aliens currently in the U.S. that can contribute much to the country and cannot do so because of their status. What are you currently doing and what still needs to be done in order to reform immigration laws and solve this issue?
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Obviously this is an issue that I've been working on for years. When I was in the U.S. Senate, I was a cosponsor of comprehensive immigration reform. I have voted for comprehensive immigration reform. And our administration consistently has supported the basic concept that we are a nation of laws but we're also a nation of immigrants, and that immigrants continually have strengthened America's economy, America's culture, and that we have to create a system that works for all of us.
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The way to do that is to be serious about border security -- and we have been. We've put more resources in border security than anything that's been done in previous administrations. But what we've also said is, is that for those persons who are here, we have to make sure that we provide a pathway to earning a legal status in this country. They have broken the immigration laws, so they may have to pay a fine, learn English, take other steps. But to create a pathway so that they can get out of the shadows and contribute to society in a more effective way is something that I consider to be a top priority. And we can do it in a way that is compatible with our tradition of everybody being responsible and following the law.
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So our biggest challenge right now -- the vast majority of Democrats are supportive of comprehensive immigration reform, but given that the Republicans control the House of Representatives and that we need 60 votes in the Senate, our key approach is trying to push Republicans to get back to where they were only a few years ago. In the meantime, what we’re trying to do is to manage the enforcement of our inadequate immigration laws in a way that is humane and just.
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So we’ve tried to emphasize making sure that we’re focusing on violent criminals, people who are a threat to society and a threat to our communities, for deportation, and sending a clear signal that our enforcement priority is not to chase down young people who are going to school and who are following all the other laws and are trying to make a contribution to society. But until we get an actual comprehensive immigration law passed through Congress, we’re going to continue to have some of the problems that we’ve been seeing.
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Secondly, the statistics are actually a little deceptive because what we’ve been doing is with the stronger border enforcement we’ve been apprehending folks at the borders and sending them back. That is counted as a deportation, even though they may have only been held for a day or 48 hours, sent back -- that’s counted as a deportation. So we’ve been much more effective on the borders. But we have not been more aggressive when it comes to dealing, for example, with DREAM Act kids. That’s just not the case.
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So what we’ve tried to do is within the constraints of the laws on the books, we’ve tried to be as fair, humane, just as we can, recognizing, though, that the laws themselves need to be changed. And I’ve been unwavering in my support of changing the laws so that we’re strong on border security, we’re going after companies that are taking advantage of undocumented workers -- paying them sub-minimum wages and not respecting workplace safety laws -- but also saying that we’ve got to have a pathway to citizenship and for legal status for those who are already here and have put roots down here and are part of the fabric of our community, because we actually believe that they can contribute to our economy in an effective way.
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MR. LERNER: , this is a great opportunity for Latinos to ask you questions directly, and this type of question has come repeatedly. So just to complete the subject -- and you mentioned border security as a thought. Mr. Hugo Sanchez -- and I’m sure that’s his name -- he says: , I'm a naturalized American citizen, and as such, an immigrant. What happened to the investigation of the many violations and challenges to the federal government by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa, Arizona? Let me just add that this investigation started March 2009. It is high time to have maybe a resolution on that.
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So rather than comment on the individual case, what I would say is this: that we can’t have a patchwork of 50 states with 50 different immigration laws. We can’t have a situation in which individual counties are trying to enforce their own immigration laws rather than having a national approach. We think it is very important for the federal government to be serious about border security, to go after companies that are taking advantage of undocumented workers, and to provide a pathway for legal status for immigrants. That is a comprehensive approach that needs to be taken. We are going to push hard for it. I have been pushing hard for it, and I’m going to keep pushing hard for it.
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Well, I think it's very important to recognize, as the question recognizes, that if we can strengthen the Mexican economy then people have less incentive to look for work in the United States. We welcome immigration, but obviously a lot of people in Mexico would love to stay home and create businesses and find jobs that allowed them to support their family if they could, but the Mexican economy has not always been able to generate all the jobs that it needs.
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Jose came here 26 years ago as an undocumented worker, and Lissette he met here, also didn’t have legal status. They were able to take advantage of the pathway to citizenship that was created the last time that we had an immigration reform measure out there. He started out sweeping streets in a supermarket, and ended up working his way up to become a manager at this supermarket.
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He met Lissette, who was also undocumented, and was a housekeeper. And when the amnesty program came, they were able to get legal status here in this country. They had three beautiful children, and for 17 years they lived in a one-bedroom apartment -- all three, the three kids in bunk beds in one room and Jose and Lissette slept in the living room. And that’s how they raised their family. But they worked incredibly hard, they saved. Eventually each of them got U.S. citizenship. And Jose rose up through the ranks until he was finally a manager at this supermarket. But they still didn’t have enough money for a home. And then a program that we had set up, that we’re now trying to replicate all across the country, took homes that were vacant, that had been foreclosed on, and converted them. And so they finally got their first home.
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But I want to be clear: I believe this is a nation of laws, and this is a nation of immigrants. And those two things don’t contradict each other. We have a system that is broken, and we are doing everything we can administratively to try to lessen the pain and the hardship that it’s causing. Yes, to make sure our borders are secure, but also to say that families like the Bonillas, who are here, they are building this country, they are making it better, they are making it stronger, and we’ve got to give them opportunities.
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I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That’s why my administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That’s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office. The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now.
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We haven't reformed our immigration system yet. And we're a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, and there's no reason why we shouldn’t be able to reconcile those values to have a system that's sensible and continues to replenish America with extraordinary talent from all around the world.
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We've still got to reform an immigration system that's broken, because I believe we're a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, and we can reconcile those two values -- make this country stronger because we continue to be a magnet for incredible talent from all around the world.
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Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta. One of America's great labor and civil rights icons, Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta has devoted her life to advocating for marginalized communities. Alongside Cesar Chavez, she co-founded the United Farm Workers of America and fought to secure basic rights for migrant workers and their families, helping save thousands from neglect and abuse. Dolores Huerta has never lost faith in the power of community organizing, and through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she continues to train and mentor new activists to walk the streets into history.
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You can decide whether it’s time to stop denying citizenship to responsible young people just because they’re the children of undocumented immigrants.
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Now, once again, the problem is not the lack of technical solutions. We know what the solutions are to this challenge. Just six years ago, an unlikely trio -- John McCain, Ted Kennedy, President Bush -- came together to champion comprehensive immigration reform. I, along with a lot of Democrats, were proud to join 23 Senate Republicans in voting for it. Today, those same Republicans have been driven away from the table by a small faction of their own party. It’s created the same kind of stalemate on immigration reform that we’re seeing on a whole range of other economic issues. And it has given rise to a patchwork of state laws that cause more problems than they solve and are often doing more harm than good.
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It’s not amnesty. It falls short of where we need to be --a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while offering some justice to these young people. But it’s precisely because it’s temporary, Congress still needs to come up with a long-term immigration solution -- rather than argue that we did this the wrong way or for the wrong reasons.
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Mr. Romney says that undocumented workers in this country should "self-deport." My belief is that we are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, and I want to make sure that we get comprehensive immigration reform that gives young people who've been raised here a chance to live out their own American Dream. I don’t want to go backwards, I want to go forward.
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My opponent believes that we should have our immigrants in this country -- if they were kids and were brought here through no fault of their own, and are Americans in every respect except a piece of paper -- that somehow we shouldn’t show them the kind of compassion that we would show our own kids. I disagree. I think we should have comprehensive immigration reform -- because we’re a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws, and we can have tough border security and improve our immigration system, but when I look out at what’s happening in Virginia, our immigration is a strength not a weakness. That's a difference.
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I believe we're a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We've worked hard on border security. But I've also said that when you've got young people in this country who have been raised as Americans, who believe in America, then I want to give them a chance to succeed here in America. It's the right thing to do.
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We're not going backwards when it comes to the need for immigration reform. We're a nation of laws, but we're also a nation of immigrants. And so we need to have a smart system that says, you know what, those who are willing to work hard and act responsibly, you've got a chance to succeed here in America just like previous generations.
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Issue Position |
Romney in June said that he did not plan on keeping in place Obama's plan to halt deportations of certain young illegal immigrants. He endorsed a path to legal status for those who serve in the military and said he wants to open the country to more legal foreign workers.
During the primary, the former Massachusetts governor tried during the primary to connect with conservatives by adopting a harder-line stance on illegal immigration than some of his rivals, particularly by supporting the construction of an “impermeable border fence” along the southern front. Romney has criticized certain programs as “magnets," opposing in-state tuition for illegal immigrant college students and promising to crack down aggressively on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
“People respond to incentives,“ he said in a primary debate. “And if you can become a permanent resident of the United States by coming here illegally, you'll do so. What I want to do is bring people into this country legally, particularly those that have education and skill that allows us to compete globally.”
Romney has also criticized the current system for granting visas as cumbersome and said it should be easier for educated workers to enter the country.
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Romney's Statements (8)
We must also get tough on employers who hire illegal immigrants. That means putting in place an employment verification system that is both reliable and secure.
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Finally, we must stop providing the incentives that promote illegal immigration. As governor, I vetoed legislation that would have provided in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants and I strengthened the authority our state troopers had to enforce existing immigration laws.
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Our border with Mexico remains an open sore. Will drug cartels dominate the regions adjoining the United States, with greater and greater violence spilling over into our country? Will we have failed to secure the border and to stem the tide of illegal immigrants? And will drug smugglers and terrorists increasingly make their way into our midst?
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The fact is we have a huge number of illegals that are coming into this country ... they're coming here because there is a magnet. And the magnet is called jobs.
He [Barack Obama] was president for the last three and a half years, did nothing on immigration. Two years, he had a Democrats' House and Senate, did nothing of permanent or long-term basis.
As President, I won’t settle for a stop-gap measure. I will work with Republicans and Democrats to find a long-term solution. I will prioritize measures that strengthen legal immigration and make it easier. And I will address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil but resolute manner. We may not always agree, but when I make a promise to you, I will keep it.
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As I have said many times, it is critical that we redouble our efforts to secure the borders. That means both preventing illegal border crossings and making it harder to illegally overstay a visa. We should field enough border patrol agents, complete a high-tech fence, and implement an improved exit verification system.
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But improving access to legal immigration is only one part of the equation. We must also make legal immigration more attractive than illegal immigration, so that people are rewarded for waiting patiently in line. That’s why my administration will establish a strong employment verification system so that every business can know with confidence that the people it hires are legally eligible for employment.
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| Energy | Pick a Candidate |
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| Environment | Pick a Candidate |
No Data |
| Foreign Policy | Pick a Candidate |
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| Government Spending | Pick a Candidate |
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| Gun Control | Pick a Candidate |
No Data |
| Health Care | Pick a Candidate |
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| Immigration | Pick a Candidate |
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| Iran | Pick a Candidate |
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| Jobs | Pick a Candidate |
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| Medicare | Pick a Candidate |
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| Military Spending | Pick a Candidate |
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| Same-sex marriage | Pick a Candidate |
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| Social Security | Pick a Candidate |
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| Taxes | Pick a Candidate |
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*Poll results from Post-ABC polls among registered voters unless otherwise noted. Complete results available in the Post poll archive.
About Issue Engine
The Issue Engine is a place to learn where the presidential candidates stand on the important issues of the election and choose which candidate better represents your views.
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