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Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement concerning the President’s remarks on immigration:

“The first step in fixing our immigration system is to secure our borders and achieve operational control over them as recommended by the 9-11 Commission,” said Congressman Posey. “Congress and the President have promised to secure our borders for the past twenty-eight years and those promises must be kept before other reforms are considered. We must know who is entering and who is exiting our nation. The security of our homeland is NOT a partisan issue, it is an American issue.

“Any executive action, particularly in the face of the unprecedented defeat of the President and his allies three weeks ago, flies in the face of the will of the American people. The American people want border security first.

“I have read the Senate bill and it is more complicated than the health care bill, will take years to implement and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says that it will only reduce illegal immigration by 25 percent, bringing us right back to where we started with 5 million more illegal immigrants over the next 10 years. We should not pass this problem on to the next generation.

“Furthermore, I have been to our border and seen firsthand how porous it has become. Washington’s policies have neutered our border patrol allowing violent criminals, drug smugglers, human traffickers, gun runners and possibly terrorists to cross our borders unchecked. This must change first if we have any hope of fixing our broken immigration system.”