Obama Acts on Immigration
…from the president a little while ago:
Right now, I want to tell you why I’m taking action on immigration.
There’s no disagreement in Washington that our system is badly broken. That’s why a bipartisan majority in the Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform. That was more than 500 days ago, but we’re still waiting for the House to hold a vote.
Every day we delay, our country and our economy suffer. Millions of families go on living in the shadows, without a chance to pay their taxes or do what’s necessary to get on the right side of the law.
So, just like every president in the last 70 years — Republican and Democrat — I’m taking steps in my power to help fix this broken immigration system.
Some voices in this debate want to make this issue about me, so I want to be clear about this:
The actions I’m taking today are no substitute for comprehensive reform. Only Congress can finish the job.
But I’m not just going to wait for that day to come. The American people expect solutions from the people they send to Washington. Today, I’m doing what I can to take common-sense steps forward.
Add your name if you’re ready to fight for reform:
http://my.barackobama.com/
Immigration-Reform Thank you,
Barack Obama
More analysis around this action:
- Jonathan Cohn – Don’t Worry, Republicans: Obama Isn’t Giving Undocumented Immigrants Obamacare The executive order President Obama issues this week will give up to 5 million undocumented persons a temporary reprieve from deportation and, in some cases, papers that allow them work legally. The order will not give them access to health benefits through Obamacare.The…
- Jonathan Chait – Republicans Hand Obama an Immigration Political Triumph Immediately after the election, when John Boehner asked Obama to hold off on unilateral action, reporters asked if he would promise to bring an immigration bill to the House floor. He refused. A senior administration official pinpointed this as the moment when any chance of delay ended. For all the…
- Howard Meyerson: Beat the Press – Obama’s Immigration Move About Much More Than Politics The commemorations of the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall have thrust into the public spotlight the border guard who ordered the gates ope…
- Paul Waldman: Beat the Press – Why Republicans Are So Mad About Obama’s Immigration Order President Obama is going to detail some executive actions he plans to take on immigration in a speech tonight, and you may have noticed that the debate over this move is almost completely void of discussion of the particulars. Instead, we’re discussing whether Obama is exceeding his powers. That’s an important question to address, but it also frees Republicans (for the moment anyway) of having to…
- Jonathan Chait – Paul Ryan Sad That Obama’s Immigration Plan Hurts Chance to Cut Taxes for the Rich The news of President Obama’s plans to liberalize immigration enforcement has once again disappointed and saddened Paul Ryan. The incoming chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee provides two reasons for his feelings of hurt and betrayal. The first is that Obama threatened to act on his own just…
- Jonathan Chait – An Immigration Shutdown Is the Dumbest Idea the Republican Party Has Ever Had The Republican Party has had some bad ideas, but it has never come up with a political tactic as obviously stupid as shutting down the federal government to protest President Obama’s immigration policies. It is almost a masterpiece of self-sabotage, harnessing the party’s most self-destructive short-term political maneuver to its…
- E.J. Dionne – Obama pursues a can-do approach House Speaker John Boehner has said that President Obama…
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