Theresa May Quotes

The reason we have to close the back door of illegal immigration is so that we may keep open the front door of legal immigration.

As Congress continues to debate ways to address illegal immigration, we must remember the many hard-working legal immigrants that contribute so much to our nation's economy and culture.

No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country. At the same time, that does not mean we just flat out open our borders. We can't do that.

I love immigrants. Legal, illegal - they're not to be despised.

We could have free immigration if we did not have a welfare state. In principle I would like to see free immigration.

Immigration policy should be based on what is good for America, not what is good for Mexico. Immigration to America should not be the safety valve for Mexico.

There is no such thing as free immigration. Every self-governing nation is going to determine what sort of people it will admit through its boundaries.

As a nation that values immigration, and depends on immigration, we should have immigration laws that work and make us proud. Yet today we do not. Instead, we see many employers turning to the illegal labor market. We see millions of hard-working men and women condemned to fear and insecurity in a massive, undocumented economy.

We have a very positive ‘immigration problem’ in this country, in that the Latino community coming in, both legally and illegally, generally possesses a value system that is compatible with America’s value system.

I'm a big believer in family-based immigration.

Where we are as a nation is due to having an openness to the people of the world. It's incredibly important. I firmly believe that we cannot shut our borders to immigrants. I think a fair and just immigration policy is good for our country and good for our society.

We must go back and we must be sure that our immigrants will be well-integrated into our society, and the best way to do that is to have more economic immigrants, less refugees a little bit and less reunufication of families.

When it's well managed, migration works in the national interest, for our communities, economy and country.

We need an immigration policy that works for America First.

If immigration is simply seen as a numbers game, nobody will ever win that debate. The question should be: what is it we want to achieve? What do we expect of those who are arriving? What is the basic deal?

I think what we need to do is to have an immigration system where legal immigration is easier.

You cannot grant amnesty. If the American people see us granting amnesty they will never again believe in legal immigration. They will never again support it, and that's wrong for our country, bad for our future.

There is no more an enthusiastic advocate of legal immigration in the U.S. Senate than I am, and that is a message that resonates powerfully in the Hispanic community.

I'm not saying we need to stop immigration at all; people can come from wherever.

I'm not anti-immigration.

I respect those who openly advocate for unlimited immigration to the United States. Open borders is an intellectually coherent, defensible position.

I am not against migration. It is simply pragmatic to restrict migration, while at the same time encouraging integration and fighting discrimination. I support the idea of the free movement of goods, people, money and jobs in Europe.

It would be a travesty, in my opinion, to treat those who violated our laws to get here much better than those who have patiently waited their turn to come to the United States the right way.

There are compelling reasons to implement a true America First immigration plan, starting with border security. We are a land of immigrants. Immigration, with assimilation, has generally been good for America.

America deserves common sense immigration reform that reflects our interests and our values as Americans.