{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=aea32aea-bf4e-46fb-9488-50058cf03d47", "VIDEO: IMMIGRATION: Murray: The system has failed, so now, its time to act", "2014-11-19", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Patty Murray", "M001111", "www.murray.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Murray: \u201cAdministrative action is a band-aid, but it\u2019s better than nothing.\u00a0 And nothing is what House Republicans are offering\u201d \r\n(Washington, D.C.) \u2013Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) delivered remarks on the Senate floor on the need to fix the broken immigration system. In her speech, Murray expressed support for the President\u2019s decision to take administrative action to improve the immigration system, after the House of Representatives has refused to act on bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate. Murray also called on Republican leaders to push aside Tea Party threats of another government shutdown and work with Democrats in a bipartisan manner to make progress on issues like the budget and immigration reform.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0Key Excerpts from Senator Murray\u2019s Remarks: \r\n\u201cSpeaker Boehner had a full year and a half to do one simple thing: bring the Senate bill up for a vote. And we knew then what we still know now \u2013 that if the Speaker brought our bill up for a vote: it would pass with bipartisan support and become law. But instead of doing that, the Speaker has sided with the Tea Party and refused to move our country forward.\u00a0 He\u2019s made it clear that the House will refuse to act this Congress and ignore the historic opportunity we have.\u201d \r\n\u201c\u2026the system has failed, so now, it\u2019s time to act. President Obama has made it clear that because the House refuses to act, he will take Administrative Action before the end of the year to improve our immigration system \u2013 and I support his decision to do that.\u201d \r\n\u201c\u2026I also want to say it has been deeply disappointing to hear that some of my Republican colleagues are threatening to shut the government down, just to keep families from getting some initial relief from the pain our broken immigration system is causing. This is the latest example of extreme Republicans creating uncertainty and threatening to hurt our economy if they don\u2019t get their way. And it\u2019s the exact opposite of the approach Congress needs to take going forward.\u201d \r\nFull Text of Senator Murray\u2019s Remarks: \r\n\u201cMr. President, I\u2019d like to take a few minutes to discuss one of the most important issues facing our nation today, and that is our longstanding, desperate need to finally fix our nation\u2019s broken immigration system. \r\n\u201cMr. President, too often in the debate about immigration, it\u2019s difficult for some people to understand that the millions of undocumented families in our country are already an important part of our communities. \r\n\u201cImmigrants work hard and pay their taxes, they send their children to American schools, and they make up a critical part of the fabric of our society. They are Americans in all but name. \r\n\u201cSo when we talk about immigration reform, we\u2019re not talking about some vague, philosophical issue.\u00a0 This is an issue that impacts families. It impacts businesses. It impacts our national security. And really, it impacts what we stand for as Americans. \r\n\u201cIt\u2019s not a new issue, either. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve been debating and arguing about for more than a decade.\u00a0 But it\u2019s something we never seem to be able to tackle. \r\n\u201cThat\u2019s not for lack of trying. As everyone here remembers, more than 500 days ago now, the Senate did something remarkable. Members from different backgrounds, different states, and different parties, came together to reach an agreement. \r\n\u201cAnd here in the Senate, we passed, with a real, bipartisan coalition of 68 Republicans and Democrats, a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would finally start to fix our broken immigration system. \r\n\u201cIt would improve our security, provide businesses with the certainty they need, and provide a real path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who are forced to live in the shadows. \r\n\u201cNot only was this bill a step toward fixing our broken immigration system, it was good for our economy.\u00a0 The Congressional Budget Office even estimated the Senate bill would reduce the deficit by nearly $1 trillion over the next two decades. \r\n\u201cSo, we sent the bill to the House of Representatives knowing the path forward there might not be easy, but we\u2019d heard from members of the House on both sides of the aisle \u2013 that they also knew immigration reform had to happen this Congress. \r\n\u201cAnd Mr. President, back then \u2013 in June of 2013 \u2013 we knew that we had time on our side. \r\n\u201cSpeaker Boehner had a full year and a half to do one simple thing: bring the Senate bill up for a vote. And we knew then what we still know now \u2013 that if the Speaker brought our bill up for a vote: it would pass with bipartisan support and become law. \r\n\u201cBut instead of doing that, the Speaker has sided with the Tea Party and refused to move our country forward.\u00a0 He\u2019s made it clear that the House will refuse to act this Congress and ignore the historic opportunity we have. \r\n\u201cMr. President, for years and years, millions of immigrant families who have played by the rules, paid taxes, and raised their children in the United States have waited and waited for action. \r\n\u201cThey\u2019ve organized, they\u2019ve hoped, and they\u2019ve prayed and they\u2019ve trusted that the system would eventually work. \r\n\u201cBut Mr. President, the system has failed, so now, it\u2019s time to act. \r\n\u201cPresident Obama has made it clear that because the House refuses to act, he will take Administrative Action before the end of the year to improve our immigration system \u2013 and I support his decision to do that. \r\n\u201cThe President\u2019s authority to take action is well-established. \r\n\u201cIn fact, every President since Eisenhower \u2013 including Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush \u2013 has used their authority to improve the administration of our immigration system and to focus enforcement resources on serious criminals rather than on hardworking immigrants with deep roots in our communities. \r\n\u201cAnd when the President does act \u2013 I\u2019ve encouraged him to do several things: \r\n\u201cExpand the already-successful implementation of deferred action for DREAMers \u2013 to include people with strong ties to the United States who have not committed serious crimes. \r\n\u201cChange implementation of our laws to make immigration and border enforcement humane, non-discriminatory, and respectful of due process. \r\n\u201cAnd finally, I\u2019ve asked the President to improve the legal immigration system to keep immigrant families together, protect workers, and provide employers \u2013 from agriculture producers to high-tech firms \u2013 certainty in a system that has often left them without answers. \r\n\u201cBut Mr. President, I also want to be very clear that Administrative Action is not a long-term solution. \r\n\u201cPlain and simple: the only way for us to permanently and effectively fix our broken immigration laws is through comprehensive immigration reform legislation. \r\n\u201cAdministrative action is a band-aid, but it\u2019s better than nothing.\u00a0 And nothing is what House Republicans are offering.\u00a0 \r\n\u201cMr. President, I also want to say it has been deeply disappointing to hear that some of my Republican colleagues are threatening to shut the government down, just to keep families from getting some initial relief from the pain our broken immigration system is causing.\r\n\u201cThis is the latest example of extreme Republicans creating uncertainty and threatening to hurt our economy if they don\u2019t get their way. And it\u2019s the exact opposite of the approach Congress needs to take going forward. \r\n\u201cWe know what happens when Tea Party Republicans go down this road. \r\n\u201cWe saw it just last year, when we had a sixteen-day government shutdown that brought the day-to-day workings of the government, and businesses around the country, to a screeching halt. \u00a0That shutdown was bad for our economy\u2014it hit workers\u2019 paychecks\u2014and it made families across our country question whether their elected officials could get anything done at all. \r\n\u201cAnd it was all because of a failed Tea Party political effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the umpteenth time. \r\n\u201cLook\u2014even children understand that flipping the table over doesn\u2019t help you win the game. It just means someone has to pick up the mess you\u2019ve made. \r\n\u201cAnd when it comes to Tea Party political tactics, we\u2019ve done more than enough of that here in Congress. \r\n\u201cMr. President, the budget deal I reached with Chairman Ryan wasn\u2019t perfect\u2014I know Chairman Ryan would say the same thing\u2014but it was an important step away from brinkmanship and towards bipartisanship on the budget. \r\n\u201cIn the next weeks, Republican leaders are going to have an important choice to make\u2014they can choose bipartisanship, and continue to push the Tea Party aside and work with Democrats on issues like the budget and fixing our broken immigration system, or go back to Tea Party-style governing by crisis, which hurts families, communities and our economy, and would make much more difficult to put in place the lasting, comprehensive immigration reform we need.\u201d \r\n\u201cI urge them to take the bipartisan path\u2014I am ready and willing to work with them if they do. I know my Democratic colleagues are as well. And I know our country will be stronger for it now and for decades to come. \r\n\u201cThank you Mr. President, I yield the floor.\u201d", 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://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=aea32aea-bf4e-46fb-9488-50058cf03d47"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3506649993360043, "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"}