U.S. immigration policy: Should President Obama have waited

for Congress to act?

President Obama Makes Two Decisions Worth Applauding (La Jornada, Mexico)

"The first was his support for same-sex marriage. ... The other decision was to bypass Congress and issue an executive order suspending the deportation of  young immigrants brought to the country as children. Relieved of the daily fear of deportation, hundreds of thousands of young people celebrated as for the first time. ... It is laudable that with such decisions, Obama is trying to return to the path of fulfilling the social demands that he promised to address, and which he seemed to have forgotten."

By Arturo Balderas Rodríguez

Translated By Marisol Plata Fortiz

June 18, 2012

Mexico – La Jornada – Original Article (Spanish)

Within a month, President Barack Obama has made two decisions that have come in for harsh criticism from the more conservative end of the U.S. political spectrum. The first was his support for same-sex marriage, which earned him the warmest praise from all liberal sectors of the country, including the ever-growing gay community. Echoes of the decision resound in the Supreme Court, which will soon will have to make a decision on the existing ban in a handful of states limiting right of individuals unite for life with whoever they please.

Obama didn’t have to wait long to receive a barrage of criticism from a large number of organizations, including religious ones, particularly Catholics and Mormons. Let us not forget that it was Mormons who contributed the largest amount of money to promote a ballot measure, the purpose of which was to prohibit same-sex marriage in California. Naturally, Mitt Romney, who is a devout worshiper of that religion, took the opportunity to launch an attack on Obama for supporting gay communities.

The other decision that the president took just a few days ago, was to bypass Congress and issue an executive order suspending the deportation of more than 800,000 young immigrants who came to America as children and have lived and attended to their studies in the country. Now they may live without fear of being deported. As he signed the order, President Obama said that they are Americans in every way. This, he added, would make U.S. immigration policy fairer and more efficient. As of now, immigration authorities will suspend all proceedings intended to deport young people who came to the United States before the age of 16, who have lived in the country for at least the past five years, who attend school or who are high school graduates or military veterans. They must also be under 30 and have no criminal record.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

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Among leaders of organizations that support immigrants and advocate for civil rights, the policy was received with some skepticism. They argued that it was less than expected, and that the needs are much more substantial. However, they agreed that this was a first step toward fulfilling the promise of immigration reform and doing justice to the undocumented. In the mean time, relieved of the daily fear of deportation, hundreds of thousands of young people celebrated as for the first time. As expected, cries of discontent arose from the Republican caucus in Congress, whose members bitterly criticized President Obama for having taken the decision without the consent of the Congress.

It is laudable that with such decisions, President Barack Obama is trying to return to the path of fulfilling the social demands that he promised to address, and which he seemed to have forgotten.