WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) joined Democratic colleagues and immigration advocates to admonish House Republicans for failing to pass any form of immigration reform before the July Congressional recess.

“Shame on Congressional Republicans for paying lip service to immigration reform for 18 months and counting, yet refusing to make a single good-faith effort to fix our broken system. While Democrats and Senate Republicans did their part, Republicans in the House have strung along the hopes and dreams of the beleaguered and their loved ones with no intention of ever living up to their words.

“Our communities have felt the impact of a broken immigration system for far too long. It’s time for President Obama to step up and do everything within his power to ease the plight of the men, women and children suffering from our immigration system. Current deportation policies are far too costly economically and morally, the administration must do a better job.

“Presidential action will fall far short of what could have been achieved by Congress and, as we work towards a permanent solution, we should be clear-eyed about where fault lies. Republicans failed the American people; they’ve failed aspiring Americans around the world; and they’ve failed themselves. Immigrant communities will not forget the GOP’s intransigence as a dysfunctional system persists and America misses out on the economic benefits of comprehensive reform.”

Grijalva’s remarks came one day before the one-year anniversary of the Senate passing its version of comprehensive immigration reform, and one day after it was reported that as many as 72,000 parents of American-born children were deported by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last year alone.

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