U.S. Congressman John Carter (R-TX31) and Sam Johnson (R-TX03) released the following statement on their decision to depart from the House immigration working group, citing a lack of faith in President Obama to enforce current and new laws necessary to solve the immigration problem.

“For nearly four years, we have been committed to finding a real solution to the serious immigration problem that plagues America. We have been working diligently and in good faith with our Democratic colleagues in a serious effort to fix our broken immigration system and secure our borders once and for all.

“From the beginning, we knew that solving the immigration problem wouldn’t be easy, but we owe it to the American people to come up with a real, long-term solution that instills accountability into the system and rewards personal responsibility. So we rolled up our sleeves and set aside partisan politics to do what is right for our country.

“After years of hard work and countless meetings, we have reached a tipping point and can no longer continue working on a broad approach to immigration. We want to be clear. The problem is politics. Instead of doing what’s right for America, President Obama time and again has unilaterally disregarded the U.S. Constitution, the letter of the law and bypassed the Congress – the body most representative of the people - in order to advance his political agenda. We will not tolerate it. Laws passed by Congress are not merely suggestions, regardless of the current atmosphere in Washington. Laws are to be respected and followed by all – particularly by the Commander-in-Chief.

“Starting off with the President’s hallmark legislation – the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - ObamaCare. The Obama administration has changed, waived or delayed key provisions with a single stroke of a pen. Congress opposed new laws that would infringe on Americans’ Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, but the President resorted to executive fiat to curtail those rights. Congress rejected the President’s cap and trade bill, yet he issued rules to reduce Americans’ access to our own energy resources that would help make us energy independent. The administration’s practice of hand-picking what parts of laws they wish to enforce has irrevocably damaged our efforts of fixing our broken immigration system.

“If past actions are the best indicators of future behavior; we know that any measure depending on the president’s enforcement will not be faithfully executed. It would be gravely irresponsible to further empower this administration by granting them additional authority or discretion with a new immigration system. The bottom line is – the American people do not trust the President to enforce laws, and we don’t either.

“We have not given up and are committed to getting this right. That’s why we will continue to support efforts from our Republican colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives. That means immigration reform that starts with a genuinely secure border, full implementation of E-verify, affective enforcement of current and future laws, and a commitment that any proposal contributes to a healthy economy. There is a way to fix this problem that will instill the authentic accountability that has been missing in immigration for the past 25 years. The American people deserve no less.

“We are proud of the bipartisan team that worked with us on the immigration reform effort. We are honored to have worked closely with Democrat Representative Zoe Lofgren, Luis Gutierrez, John Yarmuth, and Xavier Becerra. We are also proud of our Republican colleagues Representative Mario Diaz-Balart and Raul Labrador.”