Sessions: President's Immigration Plan Would 'Hollow Out A Shrinking Middle Class'

Statement

WASHINGTON--U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on the need for immigration reform to be redefined to serve the interests of working Americans:

"The Administration's aggressive defiance of congressionally enacted law is a profound obstacle in the way of any proposed immigration changes. Moreover, the Administration's actions undermine the constitutional system that provides all residents with a hopeful future. I warned about the problem addressed today by Speaker Boehner before the Gang of Eight introduced their proposal, saying then that: "No comprehensive plan can pass Congress as long as this Administration continues to defy existing federal law.'

President Obama must end the immigration lawlessness.

The problem, however, is not limited to one of trust. Even if the President could be trusted, the Senate Democrat plan he embraces would deliver a hammer blow to working Americans. The President's plan doubles the flow of immigrant workers to compete against unemployed Americans and triples the number of mostly lesser-skilled permanent immigrants granted legal residency over the next decade.

Research from Harvard Professor George Borjas shows current record levels of immigration have already contributed to reduced wages and employment opportunities. We must transition struggling Americans from welfare and joblessness to work and rising wages. But the only plan the President and Senate Democrats appear interested in supporting would hollow out a shrinking American middle class. It is time to redefine "immigration reform' to serve the legitimate interests of working Americans."

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