What has happened over the past year with all of the critical issues that motivated me to campaign and vote for President Obama. One such issue is Comprehensive Immigration Reform. During the campaign I had the opportunity to meet President Barrack Obama. As I sat beside him in the conference room at BMCC in NYC, the only question I posed to him that day was “What will you do about immigration reform? “ He answered, “I am in favor of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” I must say I felt his answer was rehearsed and that it was not a priority issue for him. I guess my intuition was correct. Since becoming president the Obama administration has deported more immigrants in a 12 month period than the Bush administration did within the same time frame. In this first year of his presidency 387,000 immigrants were deported and, sadly, on any given day there are 32,000 immigrants being held within inhumane detention centers throughout our country. If immigrants are not a priority in his administration, certainly, one would hope that the civil liberties of US citizens would be. I would have imagined that The Patriot Act, one of the worse remnants of the Bush administration and one of the greatest challenges to civil liberties that our citizens have ever faced, would certainly be dealt with swiftly by this new administration. To the extreme disappointment of many, that has not been the case. Several weeks ago, President Obama signed a one year extension of the Patriot Act. It seems that the Obama administration is also caving in to pressure to continue the legacy of the Bush administration which has held military tribunals, rather than providing civilian trials for suspected “Enemy Combatants.” I do not understand how the most egregious aspects of the Bush administration continue to haunt our society.
What a great resource!
We filipinos love Barack Obama. we think that he would be the best president of the United States and that he always makes wise decisions when it comes to foreign policy.
I do agree that more has to be done re treatment of immigrants, and for many other social justice issues. This is where in my opinion, the people have a most important role to play, mainly in not giving up on public display of concern for the vulnerable
Having said that, perhaps we may keep in mind the enormous responsibilities thrust on to this new young President.To grapple with world issues, not to mention home economical problems,the jobless, and the homeless just to mention a few problems seems overwhelming.
He has asked for, and been given this job, let’s give him a chance.
President Obama has achieved so much in trying to bring people and countries to-gether. To my mind he has such a gift of communication rarely seen in politicians, and a wisdom beyond his years.
Perhaps some encouragement and support at his efforts would not go astray,so that we may keep this remarkable man as our President, and give him some time to prove his worth.
Thank you, Samuel Cruz, for giving me information about the Obama Administration that I didn’t have. I was in Washington, D.C., on March 21st to attend the huge rally for Immigration Reform held on the Washington Mall. But I was unaware that nothing has changed with regard to how the administration treats undocumented immigrants. I live in Oklahoma, where some state legislators try to gain in popularity through harassing undocumented people with one demeaning law after another. Now I’m glad to see that a reform bill has been offered in the U.S. Senate. I shall continue to work toward comprehensive reform.