Immigrants, advocates criticize Obama enforcement policies they blame for separating families

[alp227]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Hispanic families and immigrant advocates criticized President Barack Obama Thursday for failing to keep campaign promises to change the U.S. immigration system.

The critics questioned Obama’s recent comment that he could not use his executive order powers to suspend deportations because doing so “would not conform with my appropriate role as president.” Obama made the comment at a town hall organized by Univision TV network.

The statement has received a lot of attention in immigrant and some Latino communities. Hispanics voted heavily for Obama in 2008 and some have felt he has let Latino supporters down by failing to move an immigration bill providing legal status to some illegal immigrants, while deporting record numbers of immigrants, many of them Hispanics.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/immigrants_advocates_criticize_obama_enforcement_policies_they_blame_for_separating_families/2011/03/31/AF7TOHCC_story.html

[ThomCat]

1. "would not conform with my appropriate role as president"

He sure as hell thought it would conform with his appropriate role as president when he was making campaign promises. x(

I wonder what fake promises he's going to try to make to Hispanic communities during his re-election campaigns. Do you think they'll be fooled this time around?

[sudopod]

2. He can't really do anything

that doesn't involve combat boots.

[ThomCat]

3. That really does seem to be the case.

Especially for the Hispanic community. All they seem to get is hostile ICE agents and friendly military recruiters. x(

[zane25]

5. Simple answer

Don't cross the border illegally, otherwise you risk being deported. How I wish I could break laws and get away with them because it would be better for my family. My daughter deserves the best life, right?

[ThomCat]

6. It really is not that simple.

WE destroyed the economies in south and central America. We did it deliberately. We drove millions of farmers off their land by subsidizing big agribusiness in our country and drastically underpricing everything they were growing.

So they had millions of people who lost everything. Families starving. No jobs anywhere to be had.

Where they supposed to all just sit down and die? Would you?

So they did the only thing they could do. They moved to where the jobs were. If money can cross borders, then then labor needs to cross borders too.

A hell of a lot of people. A hell of a lot of US feel that we should be lenient towards them because WE caused their desperate economic need. WE are the only reason they came here. If not for our slash and burn economic policies they would still be working at home. So we are responsible for their being here. If we are going to punish them for being here, are we going to punish ourselves too?

Taking a strict law and order stance is really easy, but intellectually bankrupt. Morally bankrupt. It's very easy to point a finger and punish someone else with zero tolerance rules when you refuse to think about anything except the existence of the rule. The rule exists, but no inconvenient facts or realities or lives or people or thinking ever needs to get in the way.


But these are people. These are lives. There are facts and situations involved that are far more real than just a knee-jerk recitation of a rule.

And if nothing else, let's be honest, our economy DEPENDS on their labor. Our agricultural industry depends on migrant workers. The construction industry depends on day laborers. Go into restaurant and catering halls across the nation and you'll find a hell of a lot of undocumented immigrants in the kitchens. Check out who is cleaning hotel and motel rooms. Check out who is doing the landscaping for businesses and wealthy people. Check out who wealthy people hire to be their nannies and housekeepers.

That much economic activity cannot afford to disappear. It would cripple the economy. If you haven't yet learned what the damage means when vast amounts of economic activity just disappears suddenly, you weren't paying attention these past 2 years.

[liberation]

7. Or even simpler:

Don't take half of other people's country.

[The Hitman]

4. ummm

We can't just suspend all deportations.

The solution is comprehensive immigration reform. I think the president had to choose between the DREAM act and DADT repeal to the point where he could get one but not the other.

[liberation]

8. Ironic...

You'd assume given his own family history, Mr. Obama would be more tuned with these sort of matters:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/17/AR2010051703817.html