Senator Hatch Responds to President Obama’s Executive Order on Immigration
Washington, D.C.—Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the most senior Republican in the U.S. Senate and the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on President Obama’s announcement of his executive order on immigration:
“President Obama’s Executive Order undermines the rule of law and our Constitution, which obligates him to enforce the laws of the land. In doing so, he has demonstrated that his priorities are polarization and partisanship, not working across the aisle to get things done. The President should heed his own wisdom—that broadening immigration enforcement carve-outs undermines the rule of law and are not an option. The way to get real and lasting immigration reform back on track is not for the President to insist on his my-way-or-the-highway approach, but rather to build trust by working together on areas where we can agree, like fixing high-skilled immigration."
Senator Hatch voted for the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill and was the only Republican outside of the Gang of 8 to support the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has repeatedly advocated for balanced immigration reform based on areas of widespread agreement, and introduced the bipartisan Immigration Innovation (“I-Squared”) Act with Senators Klobuchar, Rubio, and Coons to reform the visa program for high-skilled workers based on market demand.
