{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tsongas.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1352", "Tsongas statement on President Obama's immigration announcement", "2014-11-20", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Niki Tsongas", "T000465", "tsongas.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "LOWELL \u2013 Congresswoman Niki Tsongas released the following statement regarding President Obama\u2019s immigration announcement this evening.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cMy husband Paul was a first generation American who rose to become a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Embracing immigrants and their families has always been one of our country's great strengths, as well as in the 3rd District. Executive actions from past presidents such as Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush are a reflection of that national tradition.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cThe Executive Action that President Obama announced Thursday evening is a temporary reprieve for families, made necessary because Congress has failed to provide a path forward to fix our broken immigration system.\u00a0 The action is not permanent, but it will allow the Administration to focus its attention and resources on the true security threats that we face\u2014terrorists, criminals, and traffickers of people, drugs, weapons, and money.\u00a0 While the President\u2019s executive action is not an ideal result, there is no question that action is long overdue.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cI, along with the majority of American people, would like to have seen these particular measures debated by Congress and addressed in comprehensive immigration reform legislation. But the reality is it has now been more than 500 days since the Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform that was supported by both Republicans and Democrats. Regrettably, Speaker Boehner has refused to bring this bill to a vote in the House.\r\n\r\n\t\u201cAction to fix our broken immigration system is crucial for a thriving economy. The refusal to pass comprehensive reform is costing our country billions of dollars in economic growth. There is no substitute for comprehensive immigration reform, which can provide a path to citizenship, put American workers first and crack down on employers taking advantage of a broken system, enhance border security, and streamline the judicial system. But comprehensive reform requires Congressional action, which to date has been denied the American people by the GOP Leadership.Congress must be allowed to consider comprehensive immigration reform, which would eliminate the need for Executive Actions, boost our national economy and restore order to a broken system.\u201d\r\n\r\n\t####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tsongas.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1352"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.388876000419259, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}