Congress Must Now Enact Lasting Border Security and Immigration Reform in Address to the Nation, Says FAIR
The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in response to President Trump’s address to a Joint Session of Congress:
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — “In his address tonight to a Joint Session of Congress and the American people, President Trump recounted his efforts to secure America’s borders and remove people who are here illegally. Congress must now do its part to ensure that the crisis of the past four years can never be repeated.
“President Trump rightfully took credit for steps he has taken through executive action, during his first six weeks in office, that have dramatically slowed illegal immigration. He has begun to remove the most dangerous foreign criminals who have entered the country, and declared the criminal cartels that control the flow of illegal aliens and narcotic to be foreign terrorist organizations. His administration has also put sanctuary jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of immigration laws on notice that such aiding and abetting will no longer be tolerated.
“The ball is now in Congress’ court. Ensuring that our borders remain secure, and that mass illegal immigration is never again rewarded by a future administration, requires legislative action by Congress. In his address and in talks with congressional leaders, the president has laid out an immigration agenda that enjoys broad public support.
“Nearly all of the objectives that President Trump laid out are included in legislation that was passed by the House in 2023 but blocked in the Senate. H.R. 2 would permanently ban policies that led to the crisis of the past four years by reforming our asylum laws, reining in presidential abuse of parole authority and ending catch-and-release of illegal border-crossers, among other practices that incentivize large-scale illegal immigration.
“Equally as important, Congress must provide the administration with adequate funding to complete the border wall, detain and remove illegal aliens, dismantle the criminal cartels that exploit them, and punish unscrupulous employers.
“Unfortunately, in the same speech in which he spoke about restoring meritocracy in America, the president introduced the idea of selling U.S. citizenship to foreign nationals under a plan he calls the Gold Card. Rather than a plan to allow people to buy their way into our country, the president should put forward a long overdue proposal to reform our legal immigration system that selects new immigrants based on merit, not money.
“Tonight, President Trump spoke about the steps he has taken to secure our borders and enforce our laws. His actions serve as a strong challenge to Congress to build on that momentum and deliver lasting reform that will ensure that our borders remain secure, and our laws protect the American people.”
Contact: Joey Chester, [email protected] or 202-740-7355
SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
