President Barack Obama announced this weekend that any executive action to address immigration policy would wait until after the election. Slate reports:
It’s official: President Obama is putting politics first. As officials started hinting last week, Obama has decided to delay taking his promised executive action on immigration reform until after the November elections. In June he had bitterly criticized Republicans and vowed to use his executive authority on the issue before the end of the summer. The White House started telling lawmakers and advocacy groups of the president’s reversal late Friday and Saturday morning, reports the Washington Post. The decision hardly comes as a surprise considering Senate Democrats had warned the president that if he fulfilled his June promise it could hurt the party’s chances of holding on to the Senate.
Even though the move immediately angered immigration advocates, White House officials say that taking action before the elections could end up hurting broader reform efforts. “Because of the Republicans’ extreme politicization of this issue, the president believes it would be harmful to the policy itself and to the long-term prospects for comprehensive immigration reform to announce administrative action before the elections,” a White House official said, according to the New York Times. “Because he wants to do this in a way that’s sustainable, the president will take action on immigration before the end of the year.” President Obama is likely to talk about this issue during his appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
Among those who are unhappy with the decision: Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, who said that Obama “placed political calculations over the hopes and needs of immigrant communities.”
The full statement from Grijalva after the jump:
Today, President Obama placed political calculations over the hopes and needs of immigrant communities. He reneged on his own commitment in June to do what is right, and instead chose what is expedient, betraying the trust of some of the most vulnerable among us.
When the president pledged to act, he raised expectations among those struggling in our broken immigration system — he led them to believe that despite Republican intransigence, executive action was imminent, and their suffering would soon be addressed. In a word, he gave them hope.
His actions also led many in Congress to act under the assumption that he would keep his word. The Congressional Progressive Caucus, and many others, provided recommendations to the Department of Homeland Security on actions that could be taken. Promises were made to activists who have fought as hard as anyone to see this issue solved.
Now everyone is left wondering why those hopes were set aside so callously in a political calculation. The outcome of these senate races will not change the political landscape for immigration reform — whether won or lost, the president will still have to act alone to get this done.
The president’s actions leave those who looked to him for hope feeling alone, ignored and used. They are being asked to wait again when there are no patience left. Every day that goes by, more families are splintered and more kids are forced to grow up apart from their parents. No senate seat is worth that. None. So if executive action needs to wait for a political calculation, then deportations should too. It is the very least that the president can do.
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2014.
The only ones being ignored and abused are the American people.
Oh please I live in the same town as Grijalva and let me tell you it is more like the legal citizens of Arizona have been Ignored and Used !
“All these poor families are splintered and more kids forced to grow up apart from parents”.
Well the “parents” are the ones who have put themselves and their many Federal funded children in that position. They are responsible for putting their families in this position. They know they are breaking the law coming across the border but the lure of Anchor Baby money is too much.
And his statement of No senate seat is worth that. He depends on the illegals anchor babies to fill his voter base. Anchor Baby are money and votes. The Democrats (my political party) even redrew the districts lines so that he could get a part of Tucson. The very liberal University part of Tucson. So he could get more votes.
One illegal family with several anchor babies who have more Federal Funded babies can out vote my one vote.
If they are not legal citizens of the United States they would be voting illegally. Then they say there isn’t voter fraud on the democrats side…
The only one crying here is Grijalva. Now he won’t be getting his bonus from the Sinaloan Cartel for expediting Obama’s Amnesty. It’s a well known fact that the traitorous POS aka Raul Grijalva has been on the cartel payroll for yrs. He tried to get the border near Nogales declared a Nat. Monument that would have prevented law enf./BP from patrolling it (but the cartel would continue to use it to bring in their illegals and drugs, unmolested)but he got shot down with his proposed legislation. Now, he’s being shot down for the Amnesty bonus. Oh well, he still gets his La Raza “contributions”!
Maybe Obama’s remembering he’s president of the United States, not President of “Immigrantia”. Or at least the tens of thousands of phone calls to his fellow Democrats forced him to look out for his real constituents for a change.
Grigalva is anti- American and should be dropped off in Mexico with no id and one bullet in his pocket. We would not see him for years.
I’m with Jim! the only people “Feeling Alone, Ignored and Used” are US citizens!
The longer we wait to legalize 20,000,000 people and their 6,000,000 kids the more money we save from this budget:
WIC, ($7,000,000,000) SNAP ($80,000,000,000 a year), TANF ($31,000,000,000), Supplemental housing($24,000,000,000) and MEDICAID ($265,000,000,000), CHIP ($9,000,000,000)School Lunch Program ($11,600,000,000) total $795 BILLION this doesn’t count 8 Cash Assistance programs 8 vocational training programs 3 utility assistance programs total 2 child care and development programs. ALL together are tax payer burdens.
Repeal Birthright Citizenship and we could save $982,800,000,000 in education alone!
I see on his profile that Rick Jason has no friends yet. Reading his comments, I don’t wonder why.
Wow. You can always count on immigration stories to bring out the wackos and haters. Nothing they say has anything to do with reality, but it sure is entertaining.
Not everyone is a wacko or hater
What about my rights ?
I come from a family of legal immigrants. Who worked hard did not get anchor baby money, aid to dependent children, food stamps and section 8 housing. My family didn’t just walk across a border. They had to cross an ocean.
But then my parents cared about us and not how much money they could make having another anchor baby. We learned English, went to school, got jobs and paid taxes.
They were not payed under the table, that is tax evasion. And now my tax dollars are supporting illegal families. Instead of legal worker who are trying to make ends meet. We just don’t say the words, we live the life.
Do not give rewards to people who are breaking the law.
A note to Outvoted, whose remarks about Rep. Grijalva included this statement: ” The Democrats (my political party) even redrew the districts lines so that he could get a part of Tucson. The very liberal University part of Tucson. So he could get more votes.” I’ve just checked the 2000 Independent Redistricting Commission’s map for what they designated as CD 7, and it extended to Country Club between Grant Road and Broadway, i.e, the UofA and immediate surroundings. And that Commission was considered by some to have favored Republicans. In the next, most recent cycle, Grijalva’s district became CD 2 and it extends only to Park Avenue between Grant and Broadway. It was actually CD 2 that gained territory within “(t)he very liberal University part of Tucson.” Facts are facts, and the maps are available. And if one looks at election returns, one can perhaps conclude that subtle changes to district lines are not likely to determine election results in Raul Grijalva’s district.
Whoa… you are all losing your sense of humor here… and your perspective. And you are trying not to admit that Obama is more Republican than not. To help you out, here’s a news clip. http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/3160…
Hey, Grijalva…shove your air-wasting, whiny garbage up the darkest part of your rear-end, then, scuttle your pathetic butt into Mexico and teach the people there to do something constructive with their own nation instead of feeding off the teat of other nations like the ticks they’re emulating…and stay there yourself for good!
Hey thanks , franklymydear, for the comment. I read the map wrong and it was a awhile ago when I looked at it. His Tucson office is right at the 5th Ave (?) building I use to get my CSA fresh veggies at. But he was never there so I could talk to him.
But I wish he would see that there are many legal Hispanics and other immigrant, like me, who I never see him talk about. Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean who he never talks about. It is all Hispanic illegals all the time.
What about the Native Americans ? What about the African American ? there are so many splintered legal families here in Tucson who could use the money he handing out to illegals. I wonder how they feel when their children are hungry and living in a car ?
No matter what you feel about the war what about the Veterans. Any illegal can walk into any hospital in America and get taken care of but our Veterans are getting no care !
He is one note, we need to heal our fractured legal families first and then help the world.
After Obama’s presidency the democrats fear they will lose the black vote. That is why they are chasing the central american voters.
…and they should lose it. Black unemployment rose under Obama. What do they need him for?