Obama Speaks on Immigration Reform

"You are going to learn English."

Really? Obama is going to implement this requirement? I'll believe it when I see it.

"You are going to go to the back of the line."

What difference does your position in the line make when you're already on the roller coaster?

That's what it's all about, right? -- Culture a/k/a English and punishment/retribution, right?

At this point, since rule of law is out the window, yes.

But I'll duck out of this thread, since Immigration discussions here tend to go from zero to Godwin pretty quickly.

Thanks for this good information, Allison. One of the principle participants in that conversation between POTUS and CHC said that all the organizing and help from the faith community has been important to getting this to move along. Thanks for your work in this area.

For the record, the rule of law went out the window with the previous administration's giving legal sanction to torture, illegally listening in on Americans, allowing robber barons to run the financial services sector, (the list goes on and on!). But that pales in comparison to egregious act of having either come in illegally or overstayed one's legal status, I suppose.

Thanks Sojo for addressing immigration and keeping us informed. Very important.

I'm very happy the President is addressing this because it is an issue that has been festering for too long. Obstructionists who oppose reform -- and legal immigration too -- have blocked the kind of reform that will reset the system, get things back on a legal footing, make the black market obsolete, and help American workers, immigrants and not. He'll get hit from all sides, but I respect the President for tackling reform head-on.

Obama's answers were fair, but I wish that he would come out more forcefully against detention. What is encouraging is that he is willing to use executive power to change some immigration policy.

President Obama advocates we enforce the borders, crack down on employers of illegal immigrants, and provide a pathway to citizenship. The Hispanic congresspersons indicate there will be a forum in two months.

Is there anything more than that coming out of yesteray??

It is kind of a back-burner issue-- behind the two wars, the economy and healthcare reform. It may pass, but the word out is that it won't move forward until the fall. It may stand a chance. The progressives are giving only short extenstions to the E-Verify program (a program near and dear to the "enforcement only" crowd) as a bargaining chip to keep them from obstructing a real, comprehensive solution to the problem.

President Obama was mostly on the mark here on immigration. However, two comments:

One: on the drug trade and the so-called "war on drugs." Alcohol prohibition didn't work. Prohibition for drugs other than alcohol (and alcohol IS a drug) isn't working either. So do what we do with alcohol and make all drugs legal. And regulate them. Pass laws against driving while intoxicated and enforce these laws vigorously. One of the many fixes that can be done with our broken health care system is to make sure that treatment is available for those strugglind with alcohol and drug addiction. For those that refuse treatment, they should suffer all of the consequences that would come from their choices to continue drinking/using. However, all drugs including alcohol should be legalized and regulated. This will stop a whole lot of problems and violence at our borders along with other violence within our country.

Two: streamline our immigration system. There should not be a 3-4 year backlog on applications for legal residence. Seeing that we have to use security checks so that known terrorists and violent criminals cannot get in, the solution probably lies in hiring more immigration personnel so that this huge backlog can be reduced. One of the problems is that there are some strong lobbying against allowing ANY new immigrants, legal or not. So the political will to streamline our legal immigration processing system is rather weak. This needs to be changed.

"So do what we do with alcohol and make all drugs legal. And regulate them."

I concur. My Hi-Fi would make a far less tempting target if the folks who are addicted to drugs were able to get their fix for free at a clinic that uses clean needles. The costs to society would be far less (prisons, courts, etc) and we would be eliminating the largest underground economy.

Probably one of the hardest things anyone can do is try and learn something new. Congrats to anyone who tries.

The answer is to legalize certain drugs and watch the usage rates. If they decrease than the job is done. Especially at a time with the financial system at a new low, the gov. could tax the hell out of it. Just my opinion

Curious to see what will actually happen. A lot of people say a lot of things. Now will he do it?

Very interesting post, very helpful for me and others.

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