Obama plays partisan politics with illegal immigration at American University

On a seasonably warm day in the nation’s capitol, the Dean of American University’s School of Public Affairs, William LeoGrande’s welcomed Obama’s speech on immigration reform. “We are very lucky the White House staff chose our university,” he said. The Dean and the country expected to hear how the president was going to lead the country forward on the embattled immigration issue. However Obama chose to use old rhetoric and gave no specifics on how to make immigration reform a reality while delivering a lackluster immigration speech.


“Despite the forces of the status quo, despite the polarization and the frequent pettiness of our politics, we are confronting the great challenges of our times. And while this work isn’t easy, and the changes we seek won’t always happen overnight, what we’ve made clear is that this administration will not just kick the can down the road,” said Obama during the 45-minute speech.


The administration alluded to the fact that the topic received fresh status thanks to the new law passed in Arizona. “The passage of a controversial law in Arizona and the heated reactions we’ve seen across America” has given the administration some much needed ammunition. “Some have rallied behind this new policy. Others have protested and launched boycotts of the state. And everywhere, people have expressed frustration with a system that seems fundamentally broken.”


President Obama has made no bones about it, he subscribes to the globalist vision for America and open borders are a prerequisite. The only problem with open borders is the majority of American’s would rather continue with the country’s 234 years of tradition.

There is no doubt the U.S. was built with the sweat equity of legal immigrants. The key word is legal. In the past most immigrants passed through Ellis Island on their way to the promise land. For the most part they followed the law, kept their heads down and worked hard in order to give their children a better life.

When looking at the illegal-immigration prism the small Central American country of Honduras has at least 500 Hondurans leaving daily for the U.S. looking for the “American dream.” The commissioner of the regional Human Rights Commission organization said that “monthly, about 15,000 leave the country in search of jobs in the U.S.”

The president rightly said immigrants have “allowed us to adapt and thrive in the face of technological and societal change. To this day, America reaps incredible economic rewards because we remain a magnet for the best and brightest from across the globe.”

He further described a naturalization ceremony that took place in April at the White House for members of the armed forces. “Even though they were not yet citizens, they had enlisted. One of them was a woman named Perla Ramos — born and raised in Mexico, came to the United States shortly after 9/11, and she eventually joined the Navy. And she said, ‘I take pride in our flag and the history that forged this great nation and the history we write day by day.’”

The beauty of America is anyone can write the next great chapter in the country’s storied history.
Obama contends there is too much politics involved with who is and isn’t allowed into the country and says the issue has always been contentious. “It’s made worse by a failure of those of us in Washington to fix a broken immigration system.”
Everyone can agree that the borders remain porous. While the Northern border has plenty of openings, it is the Southern border that presents the greatest problem. In fact, the U.S. doesn’t do a very good job of tracking who enters and exits the country as visitors or students- many simply overstay their visas to get a shot at the better life.
Those who have entered the country legally say the process to become Americans is fraught with lengthy backlogs and bureaucracy. The current process often means years of waiting.

The president complained about the legal immigration process and said families often had to spend time apart during the naturalization process. However, residents of Southern states are not fooled by this rhetoric. Keeping families together really means bringing the entire family to the U.S. and that means 20 million illegals currently in the country could double or triple if they are granted amnesty.

Obama also contends that high fees and the need for lawyers can exclude worthy applicants. “While we provide students from around the world visas to get engineering and computer science degrees at our top universities, our laws discourage them from using those skills to start a business or power a new industry right here in the United States. Instead of training entrepreneurs to create jobs on our shores, we train our competition.”

The President points to the many worthy immigrants who may not have the ability to become American citizens, however in a time of extreme economic crisis, perhaps the country should focus on training American children to be the future leaders of industry, policy making and even legislators.

The system is broken and most Americans know it.

“Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing and special-interest wrangling- and to the pervasive sentiment in Washington that tackling such a thorny and emotional issue is inherently bad politics. And now, under the pressures of partisanship and election-year politics, many of the 11 Republican senators who voted for reform in the past have now backed away from their previous support,” Obama explained.

Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) couldn’t disagree more with the president. Bilbray’s district lies just north of the U.S./Mexican border and he really understands the immigration issue. As a leader of the Immigration Reform Caucus, Bilbray says if the President took amnesty out of the legislation the Congress could pass immigration reform today. “But the president is insisting on amnesty.”

“Currently there is a bill sitting in Congress with more than 230 votes that would start the process of securing the borders and streamlining the immigration process,” Bilbray said. “The name of the bill is Shuler bill. In late 2008, Congressman Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) introduced a bill that would increase border security measures, add new Border Patrol agents and mandate that employers verify if their workers are here legally.”

However the bill doesn’t include a mass amnesty and that is a deal breaker for the president and most liberal-progressive Democrats.

The persistent issue of amnesty has been the kryptonite to immigration reform and has sent states like Arizona through the state-legislative process in order to solve the out-of-control crime and financial liabilities illegal immigrants bring to the table.

According to a recent story by Fox News, Arizona’s budget deficit of $2.7 billion and it is directly related to illegal immigration. “Given the levels of frustration across the country, this is understandable (trying to take illegal immigration issues into their own hands),” Obama said. “But it is also ill conceived.”

As such the Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton let the cat out of the bag last month regarding the federal government’s intention to file a lawsuit to block Arizona’s SB1070 law that mirrors the current U.S. immigration enforcement policy.

“Our task then is to make our national laws actually work - to shape a system that reflects our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.”

“Ultimately, our nation, like all nations, has the right and obligation to control its borders and set laws for residency and citizenship,” he continues. “And no matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these laws should be held accountable.”

Yet a majority of the country doesn’t want amnesty. To be fair Americans also realize deporting more than 10 million illegal immigrants is nearly impossible. “If the majority of Americans are skeptical of a blanket amnesty,” Obama said. “They are also skeptical that it is possible to round up and deport 11 million people.”

Moreover the President claims a mass deportation” would tear at the very fabric of this nation - because immigrants who are here illegally are now intricately woven into that fabric. Many have children who are American citizens.”

Obama also admits the government has the responsibility to secure the country’s borders. “That’s why I directed my Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, former Arizona governor, to improve our enforcement policy without having to wait for a new law.”

But this statement rings hollow for those living along the Southern border. The White House said weeks ago they would send 1,200 National Guard troops to the border, however, those same troops would be carrying unloaded guns and come nowhere near the number of National Guard troops needed to protect the borders from the ever-increasing violence plaguing the border region.

When former President George W. Bush sent 6,000 National Guard members to the border, states saw a reduction in violence and a slowing of human smuggling. However, in the end President Bush continued the failure of meaningful immigration reform.

President Obama subscribes to the open-borders/amnesty theory as a way to increase a huge voting block. “There are those who argue that we should not move forward with any other elements of reform until we have fully sealed our borders. But our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols. It won’t work. Our borders will not be secure as long as our limited resources are devoted to not only stopping gangs and potential terrorists, but also the hundreds of thousands who attempt to cross each year simply to find work.”

Additional focus needs to be placed on businesses who hire illegal workers, they need be held accountable, especially if business owners break the immigration law deliberately.

During the 45-minute speech, Obama made blanket statements that law enforcement agencies are not wanting to take on a job the federal government refuses to implement.

However law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Arizona say the federal government isn’t doing enough regarding interior immigration enforcement. As such, there has been a growing population of sanctuary cities that have made enforcing illegal immigration more difficult.

States like California are the poster child for renegade sanctuary cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The three largest cities continue to quash interior apprehensions. In the Golden State’s case, the $20 billion revenue shortfall can be directly tied to illegal immigrants.

Nevertheless Obama contends that those in the country illegally are to be given a free pass if they; “Admit that they broke the law.” After the admission, “they should be required to register, pay their taxes, pay a fine, and learn English.”

“Our laws should respect families following the rules- instead of splitting them apart. We need to provide farms a legal way to hire the workers they rely on, and a path for those workers to earn legal status,” Obama said. “We should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents by denying them the chance to stay here and earn an education and contribute their talents to build the country where they’ve grown up. The DREAM Act (this act gives illegal immigrants the right to apply and receive scholarships for college… and that’s why I supported this bill as a state legislator and as a U.S. senator - and why I continue to support it as president.”

“I’ve spoken with representatives from a growing coalition of labor unions and business groups, immigrant advocates and community organizations, law enforcement, local government - all recognize the importance of immigration reform.”

Further attesting how out of touch the president is with middleclass America is New York Mayor Bloomberg. After the president’s immigration reform speech Mayor Bloomberg made a statement to the media. The twist was Bloomberg spoke in Spanish. Then he went on to say for those of you who do not understand this is the way of the future.

Bloomberg never translated the speech.

Moving forward the president says; “The majority of Democrats are ready to move forward; and I believe the majority of Americans are ready to move forward. But the fact is, without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem. Reform that brings accountability to our immigration system cannot pass without Republican votes.”

However, for the better part of 18 months the White House held large majorities in the House as well as a Senate and they failed to pass any immigration legislation. Now Obama says the political theater makes passing legislation a “mathematical impossibility.”

The Democrats certainly have a full plate with two wars, the largest environmental disaster in the Gulf and millions of illegal immigrants pushing for amnesty. The midterm elections will certainly set a referendum one way or another.

For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner