What Do You Expect from President Obama on Immigration Reform?
“Our immigration system has been broken for decades — and every minute we fail to act, millions of people who live in the shadows but want to play by the rules and pay taxes have no way to live right by the law and contribute to our country,” said President Obama while announcing about his address to the nation on Immigration Reform.
Today, President Obama will address the nation to lay out the executive actions he’s taking to fix the country’s “broken immigration system.”
This is stated to be a step forward in the President’s plan to work with Congress on passing common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform.
He laid out his principles for that reform two years ago in Del Sol High School in Las Vegas — and that’s where he’ll return on Friday to discuss why he is using his executive authority now, and why Republicans in Congress must act to pass a long-term solution to immigration reform.
However, House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today released a new video imploring the President not to issue an executive action on immigration, but to instead work together as the American people expect.
The video highlights the President’s flip-flop on the issue of executive actions on immigration – using several quotes from the President himself, including “the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order…that’s just not the case.”
According to The New York Times, President Obama’s executive action plans may allow up to 5 million unauthorized immigrants to stay in the U.S. and obtain work permits.
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill more than 500 days ago, and while the country waits for House Republicans to vote, the President will act — like the Presidents before him — to fix the immigration system in the ways that he can, said a White House statement.
You can watch the President live at 8 p.m. ET at WhiteHouse.gov/Live.
In the picture above: President Barack Obama delivers remarks on immigration reform at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, NV. January 29, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
