During a primetime address Thursday evening, President Obama outlined executive actions to reform the immigration system – a topic of intense debate but little movement among lawmakers in Washington.Republicans who will have majority control over both houses of Congress come January have hinted toward political and even legal retaliation if President Obama uses executive action around the issue of 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Democratic Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, of Connecticut’s 5th district, believes the President has the authority to take action.
“These actions would only provide limited temporary relief amid a broken immigration system,” Esty said Thursday afternoon. “Congress needs to work with the President to effectively fix the totality of this broken immigration system.”
Esty says she will continue to urge Republican Speaker John Boehner to move for a vote on immigration reform.
