NDN Applauds Obama Administration's Progress In Making Immigration System Better, Border Safer

I released the following statement this afternoon:

"Today, in a thoughtful speech at American University, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reviewed the tremendous progress which has been made in recent years in making our immigration system better and our border safer.  The data she cited tells a powerful and indisputable story - our border region is safer, and our internal immigration enforcement system has become smarter and more effective.  

The Secretary's speech reinforced what is becoming increasingly clear -- that with sufficient resources and strong leadership the American government can improve a national immigration system long overdue for modernization and updating, and that characterizations of the border region as out of control are just plain wrong.  The leadership of DHS and its tens of thousands of employees should be congratulated on their success.

But of course there is much more to do.  Congress should build upon this significant progress and complete the job of fixing the immigration system. We need to rethink and redesign the system for determining the future flow of legal immigrants; and we need to provide a pathway to legal status and citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants already working and living in the United States.  

The Obama Administration has shown that with smart policies the American immigration system can be improved and modernized.  The Obama Administration has done its job - it is up to Congress to do theirs."

For the full speech please click here, and for more on immigration and the border please see our new 21st Century Border Website.