President Obama was forced to repeatedly confront hecklers during a speech in his hometown of Chicago on Tuesday meant to promote executive action on immigration reform, as he accused the detractors of “not paying attention” to his recent efforts.
It’s not uncommon for Obama to engage with protesters at events, but Tuesday’s exchange was notable because it came after he took executive action to protect up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. The back-and-forth also lasted far longer than it typically does in such settings.
“It doesn’t make much sense to yell at me right now,” Obama told a handful of hecklers in Chicago, who urged the president to “stop deportations.”
“What you’re not paying attention to is that I just took an action to change the law,” he said, trying to laugh off their criticisms.
Republicans are likely to use that line as ammunition in arguing that the president is unilaterally overhauling immigration laws. The White House has attempted to frame the president’s actions not as a change in law but as him taking prosecutorial discretion in choosing which undocumented immigrants to deport.
The Obama administration now says it will focus almost exclusively on deporting dangerous criminals and felons.
The hecklers — and many in the Latino community — still aren’t satisfied.
“Just sit down,” Obama went on to tell the protesters, joking that “it’s good to be back in Chicago.”
“What won’t work is folks just shouting at each other,” he added.
The testy exchanges will likely overshadow the primary reason for Obama’s visit to Chicago: to argue that his executive action on immigration would benefit the economy.
The White House estimates that Obama’s action will increase the gross domestic product by up to $210 billion over the next decade.
