Obama’s Big Blunders On Immigration

http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/...migration.html


President Obama signed off on $600 million for border militarization today with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano by his side. The bill was proposed last Thursday by Senators Chuck Schumer and Claire McCaskill, and it passed easily. The House approved the funding boost on Tuesday, and yesterday the Senate finalized the deal.

The extra money will pay for 1,000 Border Patrol agents and another 500 ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers, as well as $32 million in aerial drones—there are already seven similar unmanned surveillance aircraft at the border—and communications gear. The AP dutifully reports that Arizona Sen. John McCain criticized the money as insufficient for the enormity of the problems at the border, even though McCain irresponsibly conflates drug crime and violence in Mexico with all migration into the United States.

Unfortunately, the problem is not limited to McCain, or even the Republicans alone. Here now, a look back at some of Obama’s other short-sighted failures and empty promises on immigration in his short tenure as president. To those still holding their breath, immigration reform is already underway. And it looks like this:

March 2009: After months of silence, Obama discussed immigration at an Orange County, Calif. town hall meeting. He said he wanted comprehensive, rather than piecemeal reform.

Jan 2010: Hey, some legitimately good news. The Obama administration lifted the U.S. travel ban that barred folks with HIV/AIDS from entering the country.

March 2010: The Obama administration scraps the SBInet high-tech virtual fence program with nothing to show for the $770 million spent to develop the barrier.

March 2010: Obama addresses an assembled crowd of 500,000 on the National Mall calling for immigration reform. He promised to do “everything in [his] power” to bring about reform within the year.

March 2010: Obama deports a record 388,000 people in his first year in office, surpassing George W. Bush’s records.

April 2010: A leaked ICE memo reveals that contrary to public statements, the agency does in fact maintain deportation quotas, and is on pace to deport hundreds of thousands more people this year.

April 2010: U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Alan Bersin testifies at a Senate hearing that Customs and Border Patrol agents constitute the largest uniformed federal law enforcement agency in the country. By the end of 2009, the U.S. employed more than 20,000 Border Patrol agents, a 100 percent increase since just 2004.

May 2010: Mexican President Felipe Calderon visits the U.S. and slams Arizona’s SB 1070. Obama does likewise, calling the anti-immigrant law “misguided.”

May 2010: The next weekend, Obama announces he will send 1,200 National Guard troops to the border to aid in border enforcement and investigations.

July 2010: Obama gives immigration speech, promising nothing, laying blame for the current immigration impasse on Congress.

August 2010: The pilot Secure Communities program, which allows local law enforcement agencies to check the fingerprints of anyone booked in jail against a national immigration database, is already established in 27 states, and has deported nearly 50,000 already. The majority of deportees have no criminal record, even though the purported aim is to focus on so-called “criminal aliens.”

Today: Obama approves an extra $600 million for border militarization.

With this shit im about to start yelling thats hes from kenya. (really i would prefer biden over that mr. alltalk)

I was hearing NPR and they were talking about the taxes cause by this law on H1B visas will impact the trade between the U.S. and India, as well as India's willingness to allow the U.S. to do business in India. They win some, they lose some, but since India is like the negation of Brazil i think the U.S. will lose more than what they are gaining.

That is not even a complete list. One could go far back beyond 2010 to show he is full of hot air. Remember the promise to do something in his first year? Unfortunately talking doesn't count as enacting reform. Also, it gives no indication that whenever he has spoken about immigration reform this year, it was always timed for a moment when he could score cheap political points, or it was woefully inadequate (witness the State of the Union speech).

Moreover, what about the recent "amnesty" memo, which didn't even have a plan for amnesty, but caused hysteria on the right. This could be seen as the germ for the new border bill since it was grist for mill of the Republican xenophobes.

That's why this country has so many enemies. World wide, because white conservative politicians always try to oppress the vulnerable minority. They have always oppressed people with no voice, first they used the Japanese as scapegoats in ww2, then they started persecuting mexicans in the 60's. As far as I see it this is one of the most hostile contrys in the world that is hostile to immigrants. Immigrants don't come Here because they want to ,but rather come here to find a brighter future. The bottom line is that in fact this country was built by immigrants like ourselves. It's amazing how people criticize. Immigrants it's fairly simple that those people have never worked for their identity. Instead their mommy and daddy have handed everything to them. And for those who say that we are taking jobs away from citizens you need to get your facts straight and do some simple research about the truth. I have never seen a white folk working 10 hours bent over in the hot sun picking produce in some field around America. It's homurous how people who are critical of immigrants are actually the main ones you see eating at a local pollo loco or some other fine Mexican restaurant. Also, the white middle class families in this country who think that they don't need immigrant labor I wonder who maintains your garden or who is the familys nany. The truth certainly hurts folks and for those politicians down in Arizona I hope you won't cry when your cheap immigrant labor leves your desert state, and then you have to start louring guest workers from guess where..? Mexico right....

I love America, however sometimes it sadens from the fact that things don't seem to change here. Like the Romans fell. I know that some day this empire will also crumble to the ground and I hope that I am not here when that happens.

Most immigration is forced.

Economic migration and outsourcing are two sides of the same coin. Either people move to jobs, or jobs move to people. Illegal immigration is the result of underdeveloped economies and corrupt governments. No amount of policing will stop hungry, desperate people from trying to better their lives. I find it funny to see the champions of free trade be shocked at the idea of migration. Forcing the free transit of goods while restricting the movement of people is globalizing poverty and injustice. Almost all countries need othere countries for human resources.

We can put out all this info out there, but people refuse to inform themselfs and follow what thE crowds tell them or believe what main stream media puts outhere on tv. Most Americans nowadays are more dumb and fat. Only the few minority care about educating themselves. And I've seen it first hand that undocumented students actually try harder than kids who are documented. So I'm not shocked that undocumented students earn spots in universitys. Since they have actually worked hard to earn their spot. As we all know these youth cannot get help from the government. Some work two jobs to make ends meet. I myself work two jobs, I'm currently enrolled in college in LA, and I have never asked no one for help to pay my school bills. And I have certaintly never recieved any aid from the government at the local, state, or federal level. He who laughs last laughs best....

Go DREAM ACT!!!!! GOD bless DICK DURBIN. !!