President Obama at Chamizal National Memorial. (Jacqueline Devine/Borderzine.com)
EL PASO — President Barrack Obama embarked on a trip to Texas on Tuesday and paid a visit to El Paso to renew his push for immigration reform reminding us that America was built by immigrants and that we should welcome those who are willing to embrace our ideals.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from. What matters is that you believe the ideals on which we were founded, that you believe all of us are equal,” said Obama. “In embracing America, you can become American. That is what makes this country so great.”
Immigration reform has been a long hot-button issue for both Democrats and Republicans and with the 2012 elections heating up, both parties are taking advantage of bringing the topic up to Congress and citizens all over the country. In his speech, Obama mentioned that there are 11 million people who are in the United States illegally and although he has sympathy for them stating that they are just trying to earn a living, what it comes down to is that they are breaking the law.
“We have to acknowledge that they’ve broken the rules, they’ve cut in front of the line,” said Obama. “And what is also true is that the presence of so many illegal immigrants makes a mockery of all those who are trying immigrate legally.”
Obama continued to say that those who are here illegally have a responsibility as well. They have to pay their taxes, pay fines, and learn English. They also have to undergo background checks before they get in line for legalization. The president does however want to help illegal immigrants as much as possible to get them legalized. He went on to say that we are all aware that the system is broken and he mocked the GOP for setting impossible obstacles in front of laws that could aid illegal immigrants tremendously.
Obama explained that the House had passed the DREAM Act, which his administration administered, and later Republicans voted no. The DREAM Act would have provided certain illegal and deportable alien students with conditional permanent residency under certain conditions.
“We should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents,” said Obama. “We should stop denying them the chance to earn an education or serve in the military. And that’s why we need to pass the DREAM Act.”
A handful of protesters gathered outside Chamizal National Memorial to ask for the legalization of marihuana and undocumented immigrants. (Jacqueline Devine/Borderzine.com)
When several Republicans voted no on the DREAM Act Obama expressed his feelings that he and many other supporters were disappointed.
“These are kids who grew up in this country,” explained Obama. “They love this country. They know no other place to call home. The idea that we’d punish them is cruel. It makes no sense. We’re a better nation than that.”
There were however protesters at the president’s speech, but there were many supporters there as well in agreement with Obama’s policies. One in particular was elated to show her support for the president.
“We’re honored to have the president here, we welcome him and we’re excited that he’s recognizing El Paso as a special place in this argument. We live right on the border and this impacts us so much,” said Cristina Parker, member of the Border Network for Human Rights organization. “The need to reform border security, to reform immigration, it means a lot to us, so we’re very happy he’s here.”
Parker speaks for her organization in that they are not protesting and they support the president 100 percent, but they just want to remind him that his promise from 2008 to make immigration reform a top priority of his administration has not been fulfilled yet but they do recognize he is making efforts by coming to El Paso to personally speak about it.
Aside from that, Obama talked about certain key issues in his speech like keeping jobs here in America and the fence along the border, mostly though he talked about the United States being a country where anyone can become the American dream. Obama pointed out a man in attendance by the name of Jose Hernandez who was born to farm workers in California but did not learn how to speak English until he was 12 years old. With hard work and dedication, Hernandez graduated from high school and later college and followed his dreams in becoming an astronaut for N.A.S.A.
Ending his speech on a good positive note, Obama and his fellow Democrats are hoping to use their advantage among Hispanics to make dents in GOP states such as Texas. He also promises to continue to push for immigration reform in the next upcoming election, as long as we the people do our part as well.
In England Conservative Ian Duncan Hunter stated “there was a link to the other political parties open door policy and rising levels of poverty among low-paid workers, with thousands more people who were chasing jobs.” The Work and Pension Secretary named immigration as one of the causes of rising distress among low-skilled. In the latest official breakdown it showed working age adult poverty in the United Kingdom had reached its highest level in 50 years. Currently in the United States this situation is having comparable consequences on the lower working class, and poverty has sky rocketed in the past twenty years. This is mainly through unfettered illegal immigration adding to the already congested cities and communities. In the 2009 American Community Survey.(ACS). Presented poverty estimates based on data from the 2008 through 2009. There is an almost certain guarantee that States that don’t pass policing laws, they will become the target as California and Nevada and now Utah for illegal aliens.
In a US Census report of Sept 16, 2010, the number of people in poverty increased to 42.9 million. Thirty-one states saw increases in both the number and percentage of people in poverty between the 2008 and the 2009. To me this means America is importing poverty, through porous borders and visa overstays with no end in sight. The only salvation America has now from the illegal immigrant invasion is to join your States local tea party. Tens of millions of Americans and legal residents are becoming members. The TEA PARTY will sever the IRS from stealing your taxes, to pay for welfare and social programs for illegal aliens. In the past thirty years it’s the majority of economic illegal immigrants coming here, stealing jobs and lowering the quality of your lives. In the 19th century those who came through Ellis Island kissed the ground, celebrating the extent of their liberty, expecting no welfare from the government.
The new illegal immigrants are–ECONOMICAL–pouring through the thousands of miles of uncontrolled border, already aware by relatives that they can get public services, many already armed with forged documents. Once settled $40 billion plus a year in illegal labor is money transfers to foreign banks, to support families abroad.113 Billion dollars in federal education and other programs according to Federation of American Immigration Reform. Then the US Government estimates 40 percent of illegal newcomers arrive by aircraft or other ports of entry. State welfare programs are not exempt, from being flooded by illegal alien households, specially the new consistent arrivals with pregnant mothers. They already are well versed that once they reach American soil, the misinterpreted law of the 14th Amendment gives their baby instant citizenship, no matter their illegal status of the parents. That the more children they conceive, the more public entitlements they can appropriate. Beginning with the first child born whose Mother is uninsured that the US taxpayers assume the financial burden. FAIR estimates there are about 363,000 children born to illegal aliens annually.
In a US Census report these are statistics researched: In Arizona illegal immigrant population is costing the state’s taxpayers about $1.3 billion per year for education, medical care and prison costs. The fiscal costs of illegal immigration do not end with these three major cost items. The total costs of illegal alien to the state’s taxpayers would be considerably higher if other costs such as special English instruction, school nutrition programs, or welfare benefits for American workers displaced by illegal alien workers were added into the equation. Arizona annual fiscal yoke amounts to more than $700 per households. Is it no wonder they are trying to build their own set of immigration laws, to protect its residents? Californian taxpayers likewise pay more than $10.5 billion per year for education, medical care and imprisonment.. In teaching children with limited English proficiency the state of Nevada has $722 million per year in expenditures. In Texas’s illegal immigrant population is costing the state’s taxpayers more than $4.7 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. With New York the current fiscal outlays for the illegal alien population are now approaching $8.4 billion annually.
These statistics are just an example of the outrageous costs of illegal immigration, which was current up to 2009. It’s now up to the man and women in the street to stop this travesty; to join the TEA PARTY. Around the country are thousands of branches, with thousands of moderate Conservative unaligned voters people for you to join. This is financial survival for us all, as neither major party have any serious intentions to construct the 2006 Secure Fence, according to that bill. If neither party has implemented any solid evidence of enforcing the 1986 Simpson/Mazzoli bill, it does obviously nothing will be accomplished now. What is happening is importing wholesale poverty that has far reaching effects. There is room for highly qualified engineers, scientist and professionals with honored credentials. But this government and the previous administrations, have intentional disregarded the people’s interests. For future votes and discount workers.
We need a president that is not pandering to majority ethnic groups and will begin repatriation through enforcement. A large portion of population of Hispanics are adverse to Obama’s laws as it hinders job seekers and causes mass apprehension from being wrongly blamed for the invasion.With such policing programs as E-Verify to identify illegal workers and Secure Communities to process fingerprints of individuals that can be identified through ICE data bases and held for the agents. All those politicians along with Governors, Mayors and official will not be reinstated, including Tea Party lawmakers who wander away from the major dictum of the TEA PARTY and its growing following. Also available is instant contact with Senate—202-224–3121/ House—202-225–3121 Other resources that research the illegal immigration is the pro-sovereignty web site of NumbersUSA.
Although you have a lot to say about this subject, it has one major flaw in that it is one sided. This tends to be what individuals would say when they feel one sided about the issue and promote “their” belief.
When you begin using words like “pandering to majority ethnic groups” then you bring into issue a racial bias whether intended or not.
I too would also like to see a solution to immigration but always left out of the conversation are the parties that help create this.
Why only go after the illegal immigrants and not their employers who many could have made a lot of money employing these illegal aliens you want “repatriation through enforcement.”
What about the illegal alien that has lived here for 20 years? Send him back. Will what about the employer that employed him 20 years ago? If the illegal alien can finger the person who hired him, why do we not prosecute them?
That what makes the whole discussion about illegal aliens a lopsided conversation which annoys the same kind of people like me that wants a solution. It seems to get very racially motivated and not solution oriented.
In reading the newspapers, there were articles of the US Chamber of Commerce telling the Bush white house to back off because their members needed and relied on this low cost labor. This lust for cheap labor is how many ethnic groups have arrived in this country over 100 years.
And by the way, don’t really want your fence but it has occurred in this city already. What this city needs is to make the border a better place than it is which takes considerably more resources and civic pride to achieve. Any third world country can put up a fence but we should find an economic solution to deal with that also.
I am hoping the tea party crashes and burns myself because they are not the solution. They are a one sided thinking party which “believes” they are right but is too far right to address the realities of both sides of the equations.