Today one of Barack Obama's most ardent supporters, Congressman Luis Gutierrez, (D-Ill 4th Dist.), has written a scathing op-ed on The Huffington Post that is harshly critical of the President's handling of the immigration reform issue.
Congressman Gutierrez reminds us that then Senator Obama was outspoken when campaigning, promising that if elected he would fix our broken immigration laws.
"I will make it a top priority in my first year as President - not just because we need to secure our borders and get control of who comes into our country. And not just because we have to crack down on employers abusing undocumented immigrants. But because we have to finally bring those 12 million people out of the shadows." ~Then Senator Barack Obama
One-year after his election Congressman Gutierrez has summed up President Obama's performance by stating that:
"Now, for Latinos in this country --for anyone who cares about fair, comprehensive and humane immigration reform-- Barack Obama has delivered 'change.' It's been a change for the worse."
The Congressman's opinion of the President's performance is not based on any personal dislike for Mr. Obama. Quite the contrary. Congressman Gutierrez was the very first Latino Member of Congress to support Senator Obama's candidacy for President. He is a Democrat and an Obama loyalist who has been churned out of the very same Chicago political machine that Obama emerged from. They have been team members, and have stood side-by-side at the same podium.
So the question becomes, If the President's most loyal supporters are turning on him because of his detrimental actions and broken promises what does it say about the President himself. The President needs to take a look at his record, and then take a very close look at himself in the mirror.
As the Congressman has pointed out President Obama "has deported a record 387,790 immigrants, ordering ICE to remove 13 percent more undocumented immigrants than George Bush did during his last year in office." Plain and simply, this just doesn't cut it anymore. The President's strategy of photo-ops and blaming the GOP isn't good enough, and more importantly it isn't the 'change' we voted for.
To anyone who has been reading this blog, or following me on Twitter it is no secret that I have been one of the first people in the immigration reform community to be critical of the President for his complete and utter reversal on the issue of immigration reform since being elected. Needless to say it is a tremendous relief to see that I am no longer alone in my criticisms, which brings a validation of my opinion that President Obama has been worse for immigrants than his predecessor.
At this point I believe that there is no other alternative but to make the President accountable for his actions, and begin the campaign to remove anti-immigrant candidates from office this November. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) should be our first targets as they have been as much an impediment to comprehensive immigration reform as any Republican. Their unwillingness to meaningfully push for CIR because of their own self-interests to keep their office and control of the House and Senate must not be rewarded with our votes.
Ultimately, we must vote President Obama out of office in 2012. Once the three-headed monster has been vanquished we can then start mobilizing for the 2014 mid-term elections. Hopefully by then the politicians who we entrust with our votes will understand that we will no longer stand patiently as they turn their backs to us and to the cause of fair and just immigration reform.
I believe that Obama WILL inact immigration reform right before the 2012 election. It won't be the bill immigrants like. The Republican controlled Congress will send Obama an immigration REDUCTION law to slash admissions. With the unemployment rate high and the economy down, Obama will sign it to get re-elected -- the same way Bill Clinton signed the Welfare Law in 1996! "Hope and Change!"
Posted by: Robert | Mar 17, 2010 at 04:40 PM