Does President Obama Favor Amnesty for Undocumented Immigrants?

President Obama does not intend to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. He has asked Congress to enact immigration reform. But the House Republicans are committed to blocking anything that the President wants and anything that the Senate has passed.

The Dream Act, which is NOT amnesty, was passed by the Senate 2 years ago. The House Republicans won't put it to a vote in the House. Since the Republicans will do nothing, the President instructed the Justice Department and Homeland Security not to deport any youth that the Dream Act would apply to.

Currently, the President is considering a similar temporary order that would apply to adults who meet very strict requirements. The order would halt deportations, grant work permits and allow some to get drivers' licenses.

The President and the Democrats would prefer to pass immigration reforms but the House Republicans, who appear to be taking their instructions from Senator Ted Cruz, will not vote on any reasonable reform legislation. The only bills they have passed on immigration won't pass the Senate. One such bill would accelerate deportation, especially the deportation of the children, many of whom are qualified for asylum.

Less than one year ago Senator Marco Rubio and other prominent Republicans had proposed a bipartisan bill for immigration reform, which was expected to pass both houses. Later Rubio advised his Republicans to oppose the legislation. I suspect that Rubio changed his mind because he did not want to upset the Tea Party and their far far right base.

As the President works to accomplish something in spite of the Republicans, the Republicans have shifted from working on a bipartisan reform to suing the President for doing what they now refuse to do.

Anyone who thinks that President Obama has been soft on undocumented aliens is reminded that he has spent more to secure the border than previous presidents, he has deported many more people than any other president and he has prosecuted more employers who persistently employ undocumented aliens than any other president.

Before condemning what the administration has done or is considering, make sure you know the facts.

PolitiFact Update On Obama's Campaign Promises

According to PolitiFact the following is the current status of Obama’s 515 campaign promises after only 9 months in Office.


7 promises broken – 1.4%

• End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000
• Allow five days of public comment before signing bills
• Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials
• Create a $3,000 tax credit for companies that add jobs
• Allow penalty-free hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts in 2008 and 2009
• Recognize the Armenian genocide
• Negotiate health care reform in public sessions televised on C-SPAN

47 promised kept – 9.1% of 515 promises, more than 5 per month

• Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners
• Establish a credit card bill of rights
• Expand loan programs for small businesses
• Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch
• Expand eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP)
• Expand funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners
• Increase funding to expand community based prevention programs
• Sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Appoint a special adviser to the president on violence against women
• Direct military leaders to end war in Iraq
• Send two additional brigades to Afghanistanc
• Give a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administrationc
• Grant Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba
• Restore funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program
• Establish an Energy Partnership for the Americas
• Release presidential records
• Require new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
• Remove more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires
• Push for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors
• Create a White House Office on Urban Policy
• Support increased funding for the NEA
• Add another Space Shuttle flight
• Use the private sector to improve spaceflight
• Partner to enhance the potential of the International Space Station
• Use the International Space Station for fundamental biological and physical research
• Explore whether International Space Station can operate after 2016
• Enhance earth mapping
• Appoint an assistant to the president for science and technology policy
• Establish special crime programs for the New Orleans area
• Rebuild schools in New Orleans
• Fund a major expansion of AmeriCorps
• Appoint the nation's first Chief Technology Officer
• Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear
• Appoint an American Indian policy adviser
• Ban lobbyist gifts to executive employees
• Create new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud
• Weatherize 1 million homes per year
• Invest in all types of alternative energy
• Enact tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars
• Support high-speed rail
• Invest in public transportation
• Provide grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes
• Get his daughters a puppy
• Appoint at least one Republican to the cabinet
• Raise the small business investment expensing limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009
• Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits
• Reverse restrictions on stem cell research

12 promises compromised – 2.3%
12 promises stalled – 2.3%
122 promises in the works – 23.7%
315 promises no action to date – 61.2%

The Arrest of Professor Gates - Update

I think Obama is technically incorrect to support Gates since Obama admits not knowing all the facts BUT we should not be surprised that a black man’s initial response to such a story would be to take the side of the black man arrested. I don’t think a typical American minority person, especially a black, should be expected to "react" differently in situations like this.

However, Obama is not a typical black man when he opens his mouth in public. As the President he should not have commented until he adequately understood what took place. He certainly has enough resources at his disposal to inform him well in a short time.

When our politicians have spoken out as white men or Christian men rather than for all Americans, the majority has rightly disagreed with their narrow-minded positions. We should not make an exception for Obama.