What they said

“Congress is the one that needs to decide how the DACA program or how the immigration programs should work, and it’s my hope that they come up with a program that does three things: that balances the compassion and the practical reality of people who are here … makes certain that we respect the rule of law that this country is based on.”

— Tennessee Gov.

Bill Haslam

“Just as President Nixon went to China, President Trump uniquely can lead a revision of our immigration laws that secures our borders, improves our system of legal immigration and solves problems such as the 800,000 children who grew up here, but were brought here illegally. I voted for such a law in 2013 and am willing to work with the president to do that again.”

— U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

“The president is right to want this issue to be resolved legislatively,” said Corker. “Hopefully, while addressing it, we also will deal with a myriad of other issues that need to be corrected with our broken immigration system, including enhancing enforcement and security measures.”

— U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.

“Any solution to illegal immigration must include border security and domestic law enforcement, and Congress must write the law. For that reason, federal courts struck down the former president’s unconstitutional orders, and I support Kate’s Law, defunding sanctuary cities, a border wall, and a legal, merit-based immigration system that works better for American citizens, workers and taxpayers. Our focus should be Americans out of work, underpaid, or concerned for their safety, because of unfettered illegal immigration and related border crime.” — U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn.

“Moving forward, it is imperative that any immigration proposals considered by Congress protect the interests of working Americans, including immigrants. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past with a comprehensive immigration bill that does not work. The RAISE Act’s changes to our legal immigration system should be part of the solution. I will continue working with Senator Cotton and my colleagues to advance this merit-based system that is pro-worker, pro-growth, and proven to work.”

— U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.

“While I am sympathetic to the intent of the DACA program and the situation of those affected by it, the fact remains that the program was created through an unconstitutional reach of executive power under the Obama Administration. The 6-month delay will provide Congress with the proper time necessary to craft legislation to address the immigration issues facing our nation.”

— U.S. Rep. Chuck Flesichmann, R-Tenn.

“You were brought here through no fault of your own. It’s not your fault you didn’t have paperwork when you were 2 or 3 years old. But you’ve done everything right. You’re working hard in school, you have bright futures, and we want your future to be here in the United States of America” — U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper,

D-Tenn., to DACA participants