Pres. Obama Speech on Immigration (June 15, 2012 - Washington, D.C.)
Author: President Barack Obama
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Rose Garden
2:09 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. This morning, Secretary Napolitano announced new actions my administration will take to mend our nation’s immigration policy, to make it more fair, more efficient, and more just -- specifically for certain young people sometimes called “Dreamers.”
These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents -- sometimes even as infants -- and often have no idea that they’re undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver’s license, or a college scholarship.
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you’ve done everything right your entire life -- studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the top of your class -- only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about, with a language that you may not even speak.
That’s what gave rise to the DREAM Act. It says that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here for five years, and you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, you can one day earn your citizenship. And I have said time and time and time again to Congress that, send me the DREAM Act, put it on my desk, and I will sign it right away.
Now, both parties wrote this legislation.
And a year and a half ago, Democrats passed the DREAM Act in the House, but Republicans walked away from it.
It got 55 votes in the Senate, but Republicans blocked it.
The bill hasn’t really changed.
The need hasn’t changed.
It’s still the right thing to do.
The only thing that has changed, apparently, was the politics.
As I said in my speech on the economy yesterday, it makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans -- they’ve been raised as Americans; understand themselves to be part of this country -- to expel these young people who want to staff our labs, or start new businesses, or defend our country simply because of the actions of their parents -- or because of the inaction of politicians.
In the absence of any immigration action from Congress to fix our broken immigration system, what we’ve tried to do is focus our immigration enforcement resources in the right places. So we prioritized border security, putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history -- today, there are fewer illegal crossings than at any time in the past 40 years. We focused and used discretion about whom to prosecute, focusing on criminals who endanger our communities rather than students who are earning their education. And today, deportation of criminals is up 80 percent. We've improved on that discretion carefully and thoughtfully. Well, today, we're improving it again.
Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people. Over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.
Now, let's be clear -- this is not amnesty, this is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It's not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people. It is --
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: -- the right thing to do.
Q -- foreigners over American workers.
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, sir. It's not time for questions, sir.
Q No, you have to take questions.
THE PRESIDENT: Not while I'm speaking.
Precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act. There is still time for Congress to pass the DREAM Act this year, because these kids deserve to plan their lives in more than two-year increments. And we still need to pass comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our 21st century economic and security needs -- reform that gives our farmers and ranchers certainty about the workers that they'll have. Reform that gives our science and technology sectors certainty that the young people who come here to earn their PhDs won't be forced to leave and start new businesses in other countries. Reform that continues to improve our border security, and lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
Just six years ago, the unlikely trio of John McCain, Ted Kennedy and President Bush came together to champion this kind of reform. And I was proud to join 23 Republicans in voting for it. So there’s no reason that we can’t come together and get this done.
And as long as I’m President, I will not give up on this issue, not only because it’s the right thing to do for our economy -- and CEOs agree with me -- not just because it’s the right thing to do for our security, but because it’s the right thing to do, period. And I believe that, eventually, enough Republicans in Congress will come around to that view as well.
And I believe that it’s the right thing to do because I’ve been with groups of young people who work so hard and speak with so much heart about what’s best in America, even though I knew some of them must have lived under the fear of deportation. I know some have come forward, at great risks to themselves and their futures, in hopes it would spur the rest of us to live up to our own most cherished values. And I’ve seen the stories of Americans in schools and churches and communities across the country who stood up for them and rallied behind them, and pushed us to give them a better path and freedom from fear --because we are a better nation than one that expels innocent young kids.
And the answer to your question, sir -- and the next time I’d prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question -- is this is the right thing to do for the American people --
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t ask for an argument. I’m answering your question.
Q I'd like to --
THE PRESIDENT: It is the right thing to do --
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: -- for the American people. And here’s why --
Q -- unemployment --
THE PRESIDENT: Here’s the reason: because these young people are going to make extraordinary contributions, and are already making contributions to our society.
I’ve got a young person who is serving in our military, protecting us and our freedom. The notion that in some ways we would treat them as expendable makes no sense. If there is a young person here who has grown up here and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work, that’s the right thing to do. Giving certainty to our farmers and our ranchers; making sure that in addition to border security, we’re creating a comprehensive framework for legal immigration -- these are all the right things to do.
We have always drawn strength from being a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws, and that’s going to continue. And my hope is that Congress recognizes that and gets behind this effort.
All right. Thank you very much.
Q What about American workers who are unemployed while you import foreigners?
END
2:17 P.M.
EDT
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Neil Munro, a White House correspondent for the Washington-based website The Daily Caller, interrupted the president to ask a question, resulting in the media questioning if it is right to interrupt the president or not.
Munro’s response to the media uproar: “I have to ask the questions you all won’t ask.
”I always go to the White House prepared with questions for our president. I timed the question believing the president was closing his remarks, because naturally I have no intention of interrupting the president of the United States. I know he rarely takes questions before walking away from the podium. When I asked the question as he finished his speech, he turned his back on the many reporters and walked away while I and at least one other reporter asked questions."
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/politics/obama-interrupted/index.html
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“‘We are in an era of incivility. There’s been an erosion of respect for government officials post Watergate.’
”But as the nation’s first black president, the nature of Obama’s heckling often feels as if there is something else lurking beneath the surface, Gillespie said.
“‘This is the dark undercurrent to the increased diversity of American culture. Usually when you have periods of progress there’s some sort of backlash.’”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/politics/obama-interrupted/index.html
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“A reporter’s job is to ask questions and get answers. Our job is to find out what the federal government is up to. Politicians often don’t want to tell us. A good reporter gets the story. We’re proud of Neil Munro.”
Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/15/obama-admonishes-rose-garden-interrupter/
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“I believe the status of young people who come here through no fault of their own is an important matter to be considered and should be solved on a long-term basis so they know what their future would be in this country,” Romney told reporters. “I think the action of the president today makes it more difficult to reach that long-term solution because an executive order is of course, a short-term matter and can be reversed by subsequent presidents.”
“He was president for the last three-and-a-half years and did nothing on immigration,” Romney said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “Two years he had a Democrat House and Senate, did nothing of a permanent or long-term basis. What I would do, is I’d make sure that by coming into office I would work with Congress to put in place a long-term solution for the children of those that have come here illegally.”
“It would be overtaken by events if you will, by virtue of my putting in place a long-term solution, with legislation which creates law that relates to these individuals such that they know what their setting is going to be, not just for the term of a president but on a permanent basis."
“My anticipation is I’d come into office and say we need to get this done, on a long-term basis, not this kind of stop-gap measure.”
“I think the timing is pretty clear, if he really wanted to make a solution that dealt with these kids or with illegal immigration in America, then this is something he would have taken up in his first three-and-a-half years, not in his last few months.”
Sources: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/15/romney-obama-immigration-move-makes-long-term-fix-harder/
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/17/romney-wont-say-if-hed-repeal-obama-immigration-rule/
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“This is a legitimate use of the tools that the administration has to focus on their immigration enforcement resources. In light of the congressional inaction on immigration reform, this is the right step for the administration to take at this time.”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/us/immigration-reaction/index.html
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“They’re going to throw 830,000 people into an already dismal work environment. The president is basically announcing amnesty without authority from Congress. This is what they need to rally a certain part of their base, but it’s going to come at the expense of a lot of other people who say this is bad policy and a usurpation of the authority of the legislative branch of Congress.”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/us/immigration-reaction/index.html
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“We believe this is very just. Thank you for the valor and courage that you had in implementing this action. I’m sure many, many families in the United States thank you as well.”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/18/politics/immigration/index.html
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“This is not a political move. It builds on steps we’ve already taken. Who knows how the politics will turn out. This decision was the right decision. We’ll see. I’ve ceased making predictions on things because we’ll see how they turn out.”
“This is fully within our ability. Again, this was an enforcement discretion decision. This is not amnesty. This is not citizenship. This gives these hardworking kids, who are here through no fault of their own, who are staffing our labs, start our businesses, serve in our military, a two-year period to apply for work authorization.”
Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/17/immigration-change-not-political-plouffe-asserts/
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“[This is a] decision to grant amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants. Many illegal immigrants will falsely claim they came here as children and the federal government has no way to check whether their claims are true. And once these illegal immigrants are granted deferred action, they can then apply for a work permit, which the administration routinely grants 90% of the time.”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/politics/immigration/index.html
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“[This] will give these young immigrants their chance to come out of the shadows and be part of the only country they’ve ever called home.”
On whether or not this was a political move: “There will be those who vote against him because of this decision, too. That’s what leadership is about.”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/politics/immigration/index.html
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“I worry that the announcement will be implemented more stingily than the administration would like.”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/politics/immigration/index.html
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“This is no longer a debate about immigration policy. The debate is now about the Constitution and the Rule of Law. I am preparing to bring suit against the President and ask for a court to enjoin him from implementing his unconstitutional and unlawful policy.
”Americans should be outraged that President Obama is planning to usurp the Constitutional authority of the United States Congress and grant amnesty by edict to 1 million illegal aliens. There is no ambiguity in Congress about whether the DREAM Act’s amnesty program should be the law of the land. It has been rejected by Congress, and yet President Obama has decided that he will move forward with it anyway. President Obama, an ex constitutional law professor, whose favorite word is audacity, is prepared to violate the principles of Constitutional Law that he taught."
Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/15/iowa-rep-will-file-lawsuit-over-immigration-announcement/
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Of the 1.4 million, 800,000 have not graduated from high school. That suggests a two-year exemption from deportation wouldn’t immediately spark a flurry of new economic activity, said Michelle Mittelstadt, a spokeswoman for the organization.
Source: http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120617/NEWS01/206170324
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“They feel American in many ways but do not enjoy the same benefits. It is very difficult to be in this limbo status in which they can’t get on with their lives. They have just been waiting.”
Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-17/news/ct-met-chicago-young-immigrants-20120617_1_immigration-policy-undocumented-immigrants-nilda-flores-gonzalez
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