Obama's Immigration Speech

On November 20, 2014, President Obama released a statement offering immigration reprieves to immigrants. After some searching, I found this link published by the White House that sums up Obama's plan of action. According to this publication, there are 3 main elements Obama's solution: cracking down on illegal immigration at the border; deporting felons, not families; and accountability--criminal background checks and taxes. At a first glance, this sounds like a great plan. This article also highlights the desire to create a safer border between the US and Mexico by "strengthening the efforts of agencies who work to keep our border secure" and reforming the process of immigration court cases. Furthermore, the article promotes hope by emphasizing their goals of improving the process of naturalization.

The article also presents a seemingly promising new program through the Department of Homeland Security. This program would postpone deportation to parents of US citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents. However, these parents register for the program, must have lived in the US for 5 or more years, must pass a background check, and must pay back taxes. I struggled with the value of this program, especially considering the final component. Many immigrants are poor and/or jobless, and would therefore have difficulty paying back taxes.

 That night, I saw many Facebook posts about the disappointment many individuals felt because their family members would not be eligible. Then I found this site from the Washington Post that explains who actually would be eligible to receive an offer for a delayed deportation. One thing that stood out to me in the text was that particular events had to have taken place by even more particular dates. However, the Washington Post article hypothesizes that these deadlines were "meant to discourage new immigrants from coming in the future, or to dissuade women already here from giving birth with the goal of securing deferrals."

While this is very different from the civil rights we have discussed in class, but I feel the two are similar. Hispanics have been one of the fastest growing minority groups in the US for years. However, many Hispanics feel they are still deserving of many more rights before they are able to be considered a true American citizen. One can also draw similarities between the struggle immigrants are facing to some of the struggles African Americans faced while trying to escape the system of sharecropping set in place during Reconstruction.