President Barack Obama spoke about his administration’s immigration policies at the American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, where he stressed the importance of immigration reform under a doctrine of holding illegal immigrants responsible, while also providing avenues for them to obtain legal status.
At the address, Obama expressed his disagreement with the immigration laws recently passed in Arizona. Obama said that the laws, which give police the power to question anyone whom they suspect to be an illegal immigrant and require them to present their immigration documents, were “ill conceived.” He stated that the laws put tremendous pressure on law enforcement and “ultimately are unenforceable.” At the same time, he said the laws can potentially violate the rights of innocent citizens, who may be subject to questioning “because of what they look like or how they sound.”
Obama also noted that while deporting the 11 million illegal aliens is not realistic, we should not hesitate to make them take responsibility for their actions. Otherwise, they will believe that “there will be no repercussions for such a decision … and it would also ignore the millions of people around the world who are waiting in line to come here legally.”
Obama says to tackle the problem, there has to be a revamping of our “broken immigration system.” First, illegal aliens “must be required to admit that they broke the law. They should be required to register, pay their taxes, pay a fine, and learn English. They must get right with the law before they can get in line and earn their citizenship. Being a citizen of this country comes not only with rights but also with certain fundamental responsibilities.”
Also, businesses that hire illegal immigrants must be punished. A system will be implemented to allow employers to verify whether their workers are legal residents, Obama said. In regards to migrant workers, “We need to provide farms a legal way to hire the workers they rely on, and a path for those workers to earn legal status.”
In addition, legal residency should be made easier to obtain. Obama cites an accelerated process for tracking immigration status and the curbing of a rise in naturalization fees as steps toward that goal.
Obama once again endorsed the DREAM Act, which allows children of illegal immigrants who have lived in America for a long period of time to obtain permanent residence.
Obama urged lawmakers to gather bipartisan support for the passage of a comprehensive reform bill. “Reform that brings accountability to our immigration system cannot pass without Republican votes. That is the political and mathematical reality. The only way to reduce the risk that this effort will again falter because of politics is if members of both parties are willing to take responsibility for solving this problem once and for all,” Obama said.
At the address, Obama expressed his disagreement with the immigration laws recently passed in Arizona. Obama said that the laws, which give police the power to question anyone whom they suspect to be an illegal immigrant and require them to present their immigration documents, were “ill conceived.” He stated that the laws put tremendous pressure on law enforcement and “ultimately are unenforceable.” At the same time, he said the laws can potentially violate the rights of innocent citizens, who may be subject to questioning “because of what they look like or how they sound.”
Obama also noted that while deporting the 11 million illegal aliens is not realistic, we should not hesitate to make them take responsibility for their actions. Otherwise, they will believe that “there will be no repercussions for such a decision … and it would also ignore the millions of people around the world who are waiting in line to come here legally.”
Obama says to tackle the problem, there has to be a revamping of our “broken immigration system.” First, illegal aliens “must be required to admit that they broke the law. They should be required to register, pay their taxes, pay a fine, and learn English. They must get right with the law before they can get in line and earn their citizenship. Being a citizen of this country comes not only with rights but also with certain fundamental responsibilities.”
Also, businesses that hire illegal immigrants must be punished. A system will be implemented to allow employers to verify whether their workers are legal residents, Obama said. In regards to migrant workers, “We need to provide farms a legal way to hire the workers they rely on, and a path for those workers to earn legal status.”
In addition, legal residency should be made easier to obtain. Obama cites an accelerated process for tracking immigration status and the curbing of a rise in naturalization fees as steps toward that goal.
Obama once again endorsed the DREAM Act, which allows children of illegal immigrants who have lived in America for a long period of time to obtain permanent residence.
Obama urged lawmakers to gather bipartisan support for the passage of a comprehensive reform bill. “Reform that brings accountability to our immigration system cannot pass without Republican votes. That is the political and mathematical reality. The only way to reduce the risk that this effort will again falter because of politics is if members of both parties are willing to take responsibility for solving this problem once and for all,” Obama said.
