Posted on 03/31/2011 5:33:15 PM PDT by mandaladon
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.
Eva Millona, executive director of Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition, cited Obama's campaign promise made on July 13, 2008 at a National Council of La Raza conference.
"When communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids, when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children come home from school to find their parents missing, when people are detained without access to legal counsel, when all that is happening, the system just isn't working and we need to change it," Obama said in the speech at the 2008 NCLR conference which is captured in video on the YouTube page of his campaign arm, Organizing for America.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Kind of like criminals asking him to end prison sentences. I can see that happening too.
Yeah, Barry, you should ignore the laws. Stop sending illegal aliens back home! /sarc
I do not believe for one moment that U.S. citizens who are of Hispanic ancestry 100% support the invasion of our nation by peoples from south of the border.
Families, I agree, should not be broken. Children go with their parents, period.
Hispanics voted heavily for Obama in 2008 and some have felt he has let Latino supporters down by failing...
I think Obama is afraid of losing the illegal immigrant vote. If they were sent back he would lose all thos “extra” votes
I think not!
He owes them payback for being a major factor in his successful election to POTUS.
Of course! They love the free lunch they get this side of the border! And Obama does want their vote.......
On July 2, 2010, Judicial Watch sent a FOIA request to DHS seeking the following information: “Any and all records of communications between the Department of Homeland Security and any of the following entities, concerning ‘deferred action’ or ‘parole’ to suspend removal proceedings against a particular individual or group of individuals for a specific timeframe; as well as records of communications concerning ‘selective reprieve’ to the segment of the population holding expired visas: The White House; The Executive Office of the President; Any third parties.” Judicial Watch sought internal DHS communications regarding “deferred action or parole” as well.
On August 30, 2010, Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to DHS seeking the following information:
•Any and all records of, and/or records concerning, Department of Homeland Security briefings regarding a systematic review of pending immigration cases against suspected illegal immigrants in Houston, Texas.
•Any and all records of general guidelines issued to Department of Homeland Security attorneys, allowing dismissal of pending immigration cases.
•Any and all records detailing the determination and implementation of a systematic review of pending immigration cases against suspected illegal immigrants in Houston, Texas.
•Any and all correspondence with non-governmental organizations…concerning the process for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to give consideration of possible dismissal of pending immigration cases.
DHS acknowledged receipt of Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests. However, to date, the agency has failed to provide responsive documents. DHS has not indicated when a response will be forthcoming. In both cases, DHS has failed to respond in the statutory allotted timeframe precipitating Judicial Watch’s lawsuits. (Reporting by The Associated Press suggests that DHS political appointees have improperly delayed FOIA requests on politically sensitive topics.)
The Obama administration has been heavily criticized for their alleged plan to bypass Congress and enact “stealth amnesty.” In June 2010, the press uncovered a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service “draft” memo that outlined ways to grant legalization to illegal aliens without going through Congress.
The August 24, 2010, edition of The Houston Chronicle reported the government had already put one such plan into action: “The Department of Homeland Security is systematically reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records…Culling the immigration court system dockets of noncriminals started in earnest in Houston about a month ago and has stunned local immigration attorneys, who have reported coming to court anticipating clients’ deportations only to learn that the government was dismissing the cases.”
Despite evidence to the contrary, Obama claimed on Monday, March 28, 2011, that he does not have a plan in place to suspend deportations. “There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply, through executive order, ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president,” Obama said.
“President Obama may deny he has a plan to suspend deportations but the experience of immigration attorneys in Houston suggests otherwise. That’s why it’s critical that Homeland Security follows the open records FOIA law and turns over these records. The American people need to know if the Obama administration has decided to flout our immigration laws and enact stealth amnesty for illegal aliens who are unlawfully here in the United States. The stonewalling by the ‘transparent’ Obama administration suggests it has something to hide,” stated Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.
Visit www.JudicialWatch.org to access Judicial Watch’s lawsuit against Homeland Security.
Founded in 1994, Judicial Watch Inc. is a constitutionally conservative, nonpartisan educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law. JW is perhaps the most active FOIA requestor and litigator operating today.
Not if Republicans nominate another candidate who agrees with him as happened in 2008.
Someone please tell me ANY campaign promises he has kept, HOPE AND CHANGEY rhetoric not withstanding.
Well... I guess that’s what happens when your mouth writes checks that your azz can’t cash.
Speaking as an American of Cuban descent, I say, send them all back. Including the recipients and beneficiaries of the wet foot, dry foot policy with Cuba.
Unless you come here legally, sponsored by a relative (who will maintain you until you get on your feet) or are independently wealthy, you can’t come in.
Hispanics should respect the law.
Ping!
“When communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids, when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children come home from school to find their parents missing, when people are detained without access to legal counsel, when all that is happening, the system just isn’t working and we need to change it,”
For some reason he’s not making any mention of the ones that are turning entire suburbs into no-go areas, breaking/ignoring every law you can think of, and receiving free health care and other benefits in the process. Meanwhile, you and I get booked for doing a couple of miles over the speed limit while paying insane health insurance premiums to keep all those thugs alive. I do think that those with good intentions deserve a bit of leniency, but it is indeed time for a good old-fashioned cleanup.
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