DemocracyNow.org
Democracy Now! hosts a discussion about President Obama’s handling of comprehensive immigration reform. On Tuesday, Obama visited the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time since his election in 2008 to deliver a major policy speech on comprehensive immigration reform. Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and 38 New York state lawmakers have asked to withdraw from Obama’s flagship immigration enforcement program, Secure Communities, which has led to a record number of deportations. Democracy Now! speaks with Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, and Sunita Patel, staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional rights. “This enforcement first, and reform later, approach is just not working. The states and Congress are losing patience at this point,” Patel says. Acknowledging the political hurdle Obama faces in passing immigration reform with a divided Congress, Noorani notes, “The President has executive authority to better prioritize his enforcement resources so that those who are causing real harm to our communities are the ones removed, not the students, not the families who are working hard.” Also interviewed is Molly Molloy, a Latin American specialist focused on border issues.
To read the complete transcript, to download the audio podcast, and to see additional Democracy Now! reports about immigration reform issues, visit http://www.democracynow.org/2011/5/11/obama_calls_for_immigration_reform_amidst
