President Obama heads to Texas Tuesday to lay out his plan for comprehensive immigration reform in a move that may win him Hispanic votes next year but has little chance of passing Congress. Obama’s proposal would shift resources to understaffed areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, provide a pathway to citizenship for certain illegal immigrants already living in the United States and expand a program under which illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes are deported, senior administration officials said.
“We’ve got a lot more work to do to fix an immigration system that’s broken,” said Obama, who has been meeting almost weekly with immigration policy leaders, Hispanic groups and business leaders. “I’m not satisfied with the progress we’ve made.”
Security along the Southern border was vastly enhanced under President George W. Bush and expanded again by Obama. But some experts insist much more needs to be done to secure the border, which many lawmakers said must be accomplished before they’ll consider other reforms.
More border agents and resources are still needed along the highways and bridges that connect the U.S. and Mexico, according to Texas Border Coalition consultant William Moore.
Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard goes further, saying the U.S. needs to go after Mexican drug cartels on their own turf.
“We can’t beat them by just playing defense, by joining our hands along the border and just daring them to come across, because they’ll beat us at that game,” Goddard said. “We’re going to have to move onto their territory with Mexico.”
The president won a record number of Hispanic votes in 2008 by promising to press for comprehensive immigration reform, including allowing current illegal immigrants to gain citizenship.
But in his first two years in office, Obama has offered only a far more modest immigration proposal, the so-called Dream Act, which would have given citizenship to younger illegal immigrants who attended college or joined the military. Yet, even that proposal failed in Congress.
Hispanics bristled at another Obama proposal that created the Secure Communities program, which targets illegal immigrants who committed violent crimes but has led to the deportation of undocumented workers with no criminal record. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a key White House ally on immigration issues, called on Obama to suspend the program.
“[Secure communities] has become a symbol of the president’s broken promises on immigration reform,” said Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “There is simply no excuse for the president to deploy a policy that criminalizes immigrants, erodes our civil rights, and destroys community safety.”
Obama’s renewed focus on immigration reform coincides with the recent launch of his re-election campaign. Since announcing his candidacy in April, Obama has mentioned immigration reform at nearly every fundraiser he hasattended.
But the Republican-led House is highly unlikely to pass any reforms that would provide any illegal immigrants citizenship, which opponents call “amnesty” for lawbreakers.
“I’ve talked to you in recent weeks about this immigration issue,” Obama told Hispanic voters last week. “I want to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, to enforce our laws and also to address the status of millions of undocumented workers. I want to sign the Dream Act into law. I’m going to need your help.”
