President Obama's recent executive order regarding immigration was generally met with praise from Democrats and with derision from Republicans. ( Obama signed an executive order overhauling the nation's immigration policy and ending deportation for nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants. ) A sample of reactions is below:
—Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: "We applaud President Obama for taking executive action and bringing much needed relief from deportation to families throughout Chicago and across the country. We support this move because it is consistent with our values as a city that has always welcomed and benefited from the contributions of immigrants. It is good for our families, good for our economy, and it will help drive us toward a brighter future for every Chicagoan.
While we support the President's action, only Congress can finish the job. We will continue to join with the overwhelming majority of the American people in pushing for bipartisan action by Congress on comprehensive immigration reform."
—Latino Union: "The undocumented immigrant worker community couldn't suffer in silence any longer," said Latino Union Executive Director Eric Rodriguez, who is the son of undocumented immigrants. "Our communities stood up and said, 'Not one more.'"
—Gov. Pat Quinn ( per Capital Fax ): "President Obama today took a necessary first step in fixing our broken immigration system. His plan will give hope to families who live in constant fear of separation.
"Hardworking immigrants from around the world came together to build our country and our state. I commend President Obama for showing compassion and understanding to millions of individuals stuck in a heartbreaking situation."
—U.S. House Speaker John Boehner: "By ignoring the will of the American people, President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left. His 'my way or the highway' approach makes it harder to build the trust with the American people that is necessary to get things done on behalf of the country. Republicans are left with the serious responsibility of upholding our oath of office."
—Immigration Equality: "President Obama's executive order is an historic moment for many immigrant communities," said Caroline Dessert, executive director of Immigration Equality. "We celebrate with the millions who will have the opportunity to live and work without fear of deportation. But once again, it appears that the LGBT community has been excluded from a law designed to protect vulnerable people."
—Lambda Legal: "President Obama today announced he is issuing an executive order taking action on immigration, including temporarily protecting about 5 million undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation. However, the order provides the administrative relief only for those immigrants whose children are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, potentially excluding a disproportionate number of undocumented LGBT immigrants who do not have children."
