Another Op-Ed Denouncing Obama's Record on Immigration Reform

The Chicago Tribune today published an Op-Ed written by Joshua Hoyt, Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, entitled, "Obama's moral failure on immigration".

Mr. Hoyt has some scathing criticisms of the President's record which include:

"Obama's wrong. Immigration is hunting down teens, workers, mothers, not just criminals. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports, President George W. Bush's second term began with 246,000 deportations a year. Under Obama, the number is closer to 400,000. The administration's lack of leadership on immigration reform and its increased deportations of non-criminals has created a toxic relationship with Latino immigrants."

"The president is poisoning the well of political support he received from Latinos. And Republicans aren't lining up to stand next to him on immigration."

"If immigration legislation stalls, President Obama may provoke a new period of civil rights confrontations — aimed at him."

We'll see you this Sunday Mr. President.  I hope you are getting the message.

Comments

[Matthew Kolken]

I agree that people should not give up, even if oftentimes means that they are fighting an uphill and losing battle.

Every individual who faces removal from this country is afforded a Constitutionally protected right to due process of law, and it is a lawyer's job to ensure that those rights are protected.

The first step for any immigrant should always be to consult with a competent immigration lawyer who has experience in the area of deportation and removal.

If a defense is available at the very least there may be the opportunity to buy an individual additional time in this country while they are exhausting administrative remedies and judicial review.

The unfortunate reality is that a substantial percentage of individuals that are undocumented in this country are not eligible for any forms of relief because of the draconian and archaic immigration laws.

We can only hope that at some point the laws are changed to at least return more liberal discretion to our immigration judges so that they may decide who should be given the opportunity to remain in this country due to the existence of outstanding equities.

[Brian D. Lerner]

Hello:

I am an Immigration Attorney. Yes, the deportations have been up and there are people afraid to walk outside. However, even though that is the case, there are still ways of fighting a deportation. People should not just give up. You can apply for Cancellation of Removal, Adjustment of Status, Registry, Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and others. There is always a chance of winning.