Gallegly Criticizes President's Remarks on Immigration Reform

Rep. Elton Gallegly—Republican congressman for the 24th District, which includes most of Ventura County and part of Santa Barbara County—issued a statement in response to President Barack Obama’s immigration reform speech in El Paso, TX, on Tuesday.

Gallegly, chairman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement, described some of the measures called for in the president’s speech as “amnesty,” and said Congress would not pass them.

“It is unfair to the 26 million American workers who are unemployed or underemployed and it is unfair to those who are waiting to legally immigrate to the United States,” he said in his statement.

In his speech, Obama acknowledged an estimated 11 million people have “broken the rules” and are in the country illegally and, though most are just trying to provide for their families, “the presence of so many illegal immigrants makes a mockery of all those who are trying to immigrate legally,” he said.

He went on to explain that when businesses skirt taxes, pay workers less than a minimum wage or cut corners with health and safety laws, it puts companies who follow the rules at a disadvantage.

“So,” Obama said, “one way to strengthen the middle class in America is to reform the immigration system so that there is no longer a massive underground economy that exploits a cheap source of labor while depressing wages for everybody else.” 

He went on to give four examples of what he says comprehensive reform would look like: strengthening the country’s borders; holding businesses accountable if they exploit workers who are in the country illegally; making those here illegally pay taxes, pay a fine, learn English and submit to a background check and wait in line for legalization; and reforming the country’s system of legal immigration.

“We should make it easier for the best and the brightest to not only stay here, but also to start businesses and create jobs here,” he said.

He went on to say farms should have a legal way to hire immigrant workers and the country should provide a path for those workers to earn legal status. He also called for passage of the DREAM Act (which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), a road to legal permanent residency for students who came here illegally.  

It is these types of paths that Gallegly opposes.

“Providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, as the president called for again today, without requiring illegal immigrants to return to their countries of origin and apply for legal status, is amnesty,” he said in the issued statement.

Gallegly would rather the government focus on creating jobs and getting Americans back to work.

“The president’s proposal,” he said, “would give millions of illegal immigrants the opportunity to work legally in the United States, attract more illegal immigrants looking for the same opportunity, and take more jobs from American workers.”