President Obama called for common sense immigration reform today during a speech in San Francisco. Towards the end of the speech, some young attendees (presumably Dreamers ) started chanting “stop deportations’. It became loud and unruly pretty quicky. However, the President asked his security members not to remove the protestors and explained why he cannot go beyond the law to stop deportations. He said that we are a country of law and that is the reason he was giving his speech calling for immigration reform. I commend the President for showing such compassion and understanding for people who are living with frustration day in and day out.
During his speech, he discussed legal immigration reform, pathway to citizenship for undocumented folks, Dreamers, entrepreneurs and much more. He emphasized that immigration reform would bring an economic boost of $1.4 trillion and reduce deficit.
He said in America, we all “look like the world” and that we have a President named Obama. He said that “what makes us American is our shared belief.” He said we are close to immigration reform and “can’t leave this problem for another generation to solve.” As Americans, he said we should leave the country “more generous and more hopeful than we found it.”
The speech was inspiring and hopeful. I hope people will act in calling upon their own House representatives to urge immigration reform.
Thank you Mr. President for continuing your efforts on immigration reform!