Barack Obama - Immigration

Last Updated: Dec 14, 2010

Summary

President Obama is a strong supporter of amnesty for illegal aliens.

Senator Obama's plan for immigration during the campaign was to secure the border, punish employers who hire "undocumented workers", and then grant those already here citizenship through a "pathway" which involved registering and paying a "severe" fine which is generally in the amount of $500, and then "going to the back of the line."

Since assuming office, President Obama has not only failed to secure the border and ensure that employers are punished for hiring "undocumented workers", but he was instrumental in the removal of the e-verify system in the stimulus bill. The e-verify system is an online tool that allow employers to ensure that the names and social security numbers given to them by their employers match and are valid. Thus ensuring they are legal citizens. Originally, the stimulus bill asked that employers use the system in order to receive funding. The Obama administration had that requirement removed.

President Obama has also spoke out against another Arizona immigration law that would allow police officers to ask the immigration status of people who are already being questioned by police on other matters.

Additionally, President Obama has appointed several cabinet members who are are openly supportive of full amnesty. Some of these advisors also have histories working for groups which have the express purpose of assisting hispanic people violate US immigration laws.

While in the state senate of Illinois, President Obama supported giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, provided they followed the same insurance and testing requirements of US citizens. When asked about this issue in a debate, Senator Obama dodged the question and stated that it was a wedge issue. After being pressed on the issue, he admitted to being in favor of granting drivers licenses to illegal aliens.

When questioned on english as the official language, Senator Obama responded in the same manner as the question on drivers licenses and indicated that the question was not appropriate and simply being used as a wedge issue.

Senator Obama also voted for an amendment to allow continued federal funding to sanctuary cities, and he avoided the question when asked in debates. President Obama has also not moved to prevent the practice.

In 2010, the state of Arizona attempted to enforce existing immigration laws by taking the federal law and making it a state misdemeanor. President Obama strongly opposed this action and made numerous easily disprovable claims about the nature of the law. His administration eventually brought a lawsuit against the state. Throughout these discussions on the law, the President repeatedly called for amnesty for illegal aliens through a plan know as "comprehensive immigration reform".

The President has asserted that US immigration law is to enforced by the federal government, and made this the basis for the lawsuit against Arizona. However, the President has taken no measures to counteract sanctuary cities that create measures to circumvent federal immigration law.

President Obama routinely states that he supports enforcing current laws which were designed to punish employers for hiring illegal immigrants. However, the President is the one man in the country with the ability to enforce those laws and he has yet to do so.

Primary Debate - A Humane Immigration Policy

In a January 2008 primary debate, Senator Obama spoke about immigration and unemployment. He noted that there was large unemployment in the inner cities before the latest round of immigration. He then went on to say that illegal immigrants here in the US undermine wages for workers. He noted that we can be both a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. He supported enforcement of laws against employers that hire those illegal immigrants and a pathway to citizenship to circumvent valid US immigration laws for those that came here illegally.

Blueprint for Immigration

Senator Obama prepared a series of videos for the 2008 campaign that described his views and plans on a number of issues. The blueprint for immigration is outlined below:

Secure our border
- Pass comprehensive immigration reform bill
- Border surveillance
- Technology Improvements
Remove incentives to enter illegally
- Crack down on employers hiring undocumented workers intentionally
Fix broken immigration bureaucracy
- Create a fair and responsible path to citizenship
  - Register
  - Pay a fine
  - Pay back taxes
  - Learn English
  - Legal immigrants have priority
Work with Mexico
- Create more jobs

I really think that we can pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. And I think it starts with having secure borders. I think we've got to be serious about having border surveillance, border security, and using technology more effectively than we're using it right now.

I also think that we have to crack down on employers who are hiring undocumented workers intentionally because they don't want to pay American workers what they deserve.

Who What I believe we should do is to have them register, have them pay a fine for having broken the law, pay back taxes if they owe them, learn english so that they are making an effort to assimilate, make sure that they go to the back of the line so that they're not getting legal status before people who applied in a legal way, but give them an opportunity over time to earn their citizenship.

The last thing that we're gonna have to do is to help countries like Mexico and countries in Central America do a better job of creating jobs for their people.

Boone, Iowa Campaign Rally

At a campaign rally in Boone, Iowa in December of 2007, Senator Obama was asked what his plans were for immigration. He stated that he would force secure the border and then give those here illegally citizenship.

Q: What is your stand on immigration reform and what do you plan ...

Obama: First thing. We're gonna strengthen our borders. We're gonna take seriously, surveillance, border patrols, monitoring who is getting Visas and if they're overstaying them. We have to put resources and get serious about our borders.

Step number 2, which may even be more important because the truth is with such a long border on the south as well as the north, it's gonna be difficult to have a perfect system along the borders, so what's even more important is that we crack down on employers who are hiring undocumented workers.

In the early years of the Bush administration, you we're more likely to be hit by lightning than to be prosecuted because you hired an undocumented worker. That's point number 2.

Now, here's the point where everybody may not agree with me, but remember I told ya I was gonna tell you what I think. If we do a good job on the border and we crack down on employers, then fewer people are gonna be coming in every year and some people are gonna go back. They're gonna go back to their home country, because they're here to get jobs, they're not here to get drivers licenses. They're here to work. But you know what, they're still gonna be an awful lot of undocumented workers who stay, because they've put roots here. Their children may be US citizens. And you know what, the idea that somehow we are gonna round those folks up and send them home, is just not true. ...

... Now, these folks have broken the law, and it's fair what they've done. They've jumped over folks that have waited patiently. They need to be punished. But we also need to lift them out of the shadows so that we know who they are. So heres what I would do. I'd say "you'll have to register, you'll have to pay a significant fine, you'll have to learn english, you'll have to go to the back of the line so that you're not getting legal before somebody that's been waiting legally. ...

... If you do all those things then we will give you a pathway to legalization.

Des Moines Register Interview

Early in the primary election, Senator Obama gave an interview with the Des Moines Register where he outlined a three part plan for immigration consisting of border security, a verification and enforcement system on the employer side, and a pathway to citizenship.

I think that we should have strong border security. It doesn't make sense for us to allow hundreds of thousands of people to come into our borders without us knowing who they are; often times in very hazardous situations, and unmonitored situations that could do us long term damage.

I think that we should have a serious employer verification system where employers, when they hire somebody, find out what they're work status is; are they able to work here legally. Right now, what employers will say is "well we checked they're social security cards, that's the best we could do." So we've got to set up a tamper proof system, and then hold employers accountable. I'm not particularly impressed with raids on plants that grab a hand full of undocumented workers and send them home, leaving the company in a position where it can just hire the next batch. And I don't think that we've been serious about employer sanctions. It requires that we set up a verification system that they can rely on, but then we've got to hold them accountable. So that's step number 2.

And then step number three is, I do believe that, and this for some is the most controversial part, that we've got to have a pathway to citizenship for the 12 million people or so who are already here. The notion that we are gonna round up 12 million people is unrealistic. It would require us to devote all of our law enforcement resources to that task. Many of these families have children who are US citizens. It would, I think, distort our country in ways that are far more damaging than the presence of undocumented workers right now.

I do think that the structure that's been set up that says; you pay a fine, you learn english, you stay out of trouble, you got a job, you go to the back of the line, so that those who came here legally, that backlog is cleared before you have the opportunity for citizenship. That is a reasonable approach; and one that will ultimately address the biggest problem for American workers and that is the oppressive affects of undocumented workers who aren't right now subject to, often time, minimum wage laws, or workers safety laws, or all the other things that make them cheaper for employers. If they are out of the shadows, then we can make sure those laws are enforced, and those cost advantages for hiring those workers will go away.

CNN Debate question - English as official language

In a debate on CNN, Senator Obama was asked if he believed that english should be the official language of the United States. His response to the question was that it was an invalid question which only serves to divide.

Obama: We are a country of immigrants, we are also a country of laws. And the question is "How do we balance that appropriately?" I am hopeful that we can solve this problem constructively. I think Joe is exactly right, that we want to have a situation in which those who are already here, are playing by the rules, are willing to pay a fine, and go through a rigorous process, should have a pathway to legalization. And I think most Americans will support that if they have some sense that the border is also being secured. What they don't want is a situation in which there is a pathway to legalization and you've got another several hundred thousands of folks coming in every year, and that, I believe is a sensible position that we should be able to arrive at.

Q: Raise your hand if you believe that english should be the official language of the united states.

Obama: ... This is the kind of question that is designed precisely to divide us. ... Everybody is gonna learn to speak english if they live in this country. The issue is not whether or not future generations of immigrants are going to learn to speak english, the question is how can we come up with both a legal, sensible immigration policy, and when we get distracted by those type of questions, we do a disservice to the American people.

CNN Debate question - Driver's Licenses for illegal immigrants

Again, in a CNN debate, Senator Obama was asked if he would support drivers licenses for illegal aliens and after a great deal of back and forth, he eventually admitted that he supported drivers licenses for illegal aliens.

Q: I take it, Senator Obama, that you support giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, is that right?

Obama: When I was a state senator in Illinois, I vote to require that illegal aliens get trained, get a license, and get insurance to protect public safety. That was my intention. But I have to make sure that people understand that the problem we have here is not drivers licenses, undocumented workers don't come here to drive. They're not coming here to go to the in and out burger. That's not the reason they are here, they're here for work. So, instead of becoming distracted by what is not become a wedge issue, let's focus on actually solving the problem that this administration, the Bush administration, has done nothing about.

Q: ... Do you support or oppose drivers licenses for illegal immigrants?

Obama: I am not proposing that that's what we do. What I am saying is that we can't be... (audience laughter) .. no, no, look, I have already said that I support the notion that we have to deal with public safety and that drivers license at the state level can make that happen. What I also know Wolf (Blitzer) is that if we keep getting distracted by this problem, then we are not solving it.

Q: This is the sort of question that is sort of available for a yes or a no answer. (Audience cheering) Either you support it or you oppose it? Yes or no?

Obama: Yes

Appointment of Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary

President Obama has appointed Congresswoman (California 32) Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. Secretary Solis's political history makes her very qualified for this position as she was a US Congresswoman from 2001-2009 and a State Senator from 1994-1999.

Secretary Solis has a well documented history of vehement illegal immigration support and has been honored several times by the hispanic supremacy group La Raza (The Race). As a California State Senator in 1999, she introduced S.B. 371, which would have dropped legal residency requirements to obtain California driver's licenses; the goal was to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens.

Appointment of Celia Munoz as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs

On Novemebr 26, 2008, the Washington Post reported that Celia Munoz had been appointed as head of intergovernmental affairs. The article contained this description of Director Munoz:

"Munoz, meanwhile, will oversee the White House office responsible for relations between the administration and state and local governments. The 2000 MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" winner is a senior vice president at the National Council of La Raza, a leading Hispanic civil rights group. There, she has spearheaded many of the organization's immigration initiatives. Currently, she is in charge of the group's entire advocacy and legislative agenda."

The fact that Mrs Munoz spearheaded initiatives that were designed to circumvent US immigration laws, and is now dictating intergovenrment affairs is a prominent indicator that that President Obama is attempting to surround himself with people who do not wish to enforce current laws.

Removal of E-Verify requirements from stimulus bill

The initial version of the Stimulus Bill contained language which would require the recipients to use the government E-Verify System to verify that all workers would be verified as US citizens.

From the Introduced version of the Bill:

Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to extend employment eligibility confirmation pilot programs (including the E-Verify basic pilot program).

This language was removed from the final version of the bill.

Speech at Immigration rally

At an immigration rally in February 2008, Senator Obama made comments which promised citizenship to illegal aliens and discounted those who advocate for secure borders and immigration law enforcement as fear mongering

Arizona Immigration Law

President Obama's reaction to the 2010 Arizona immigration law is being tracked as a controversy. During numerous speeches about the law, the President noted that his preferred method of solving the illegal immigration problem is to grant amnesty to all illegal aliens through a "comprehensive immigration reform" package.

The President also routinely criticized those who support the enforcement of valid US laws and made numerous false statements concerning the law which included that people would be harassed when they go out to buy ice cream at night. Eventually, the President sued the state of Arizona to challenge the validity of the law, noting that immigration law enforcement was a realm of law relegated to the federal government and not the state.

The lack of enforcement of the law contradicts a statement made by President Obama concerning "don't ask, don't tell." When asked about simply not enforcing the current don't as don't tell policy, the President stated that it was not the right of the executive branch to simply not enforce a congressional law. Yet the President is suing the state of Arizona to ensure that congressional law is not enforced.

In suing the state of Arizona, the President also ignores numerous sanctuary cities that openly contradict US laws. If the President seeks to keep immigration law enforcement at the federal level, he would also seek to prevent cities from enacting measures to prevent their enforcement.

2008 Campaign Website Statements

At the official website for the Office of the President-Elect - change.gov - a five component plan for immigration is outlined.

Create Secure Borders: Protect the integrity of our borders. Support additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.

Improve Our Immigration System: Fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.

Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally: Remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.

Bring People Out of the Shadows: Support a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.

Work with Mexico: Promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.

On the education portion of the website, President Obama cites the need to ensure that people who are in our school system that do not speak english are provided ample access to education.

Support English Language Learners: Obama and Biden support transitional bilingual education and will help Limited English Proficient students get ahead by holding schools accountable for making sure these students complete school.

Voting Record

Funding for Sanctuary Cities

Sactuary cities are those that allow illegal immigrants to reside within their borders with the understanding that the local government with not seek to determine immigration status or enforce the federal mandates concerning immigration. Senator Vitter put forth an amendment to create a reserve fund to hold money that would normally go to these sanctuary cities. On March 13, 2008, a motion was put forth to "table" or remove the amendment from consideration. Virtually all Democrats, and about 1/4 of the Republicans in office agreed to remove the amendment from consideration in a 58-40 vote. Barack Obama voted to table the amendment, and therefore supported the sanctuary city policy.

Barack Obama voted to table the amendment, and therefore supported the sanctuary city policy.

The DREAM Act

When the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill failed to pass, several members of congress attempted to achieve the same goal by passing the individual pieces of legislation that comprised the Reform Package. The DREAM Act was one such piece of legislation that grants citizenship to those that came to this country prior to the age of 16. Although the Bill got some support from both Democrats and Republicans, it too failed to pass the Senate in a 52-44 vote. Barack Obama voted in favor of the DREAM Act.

Barack Obama voted in favor of the DREAM Act.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform

In June of 2007, Congress attempted to pass the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. The bill iteself was a series of smaller pieces of legislation which established the requisites for people living in the US illegally to obtain amnesty. The bill also sought to grant other rights to illegal immigrants prior to and after they become citizens. Despite a massive Public Relations campaign to promote the legislation, the bill got no Republican support and roughly 2/3 of the support of the Democrats. The bill was rejected in the Senate in a 61-34 vote. Barack Obama voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill.

Barack Obama voted in favor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill.

The Secure Fence Act

The Secure Fence Act passed the Senate in 2006, and required the director of homeland security to take operational control over certain areas along the border in an effort to cut down on both violence and illegal immigration. The enjoyed broad support and passed the Senate in an 80-19 vote. Barack Obama voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act.

Barack Obama voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act.

Immigration Reform Act of 2006

In 2006, the Senate attempted to pass an immigration reform bill. S 2611 passed the Senate in a 62-36 vote with the support of about 40% of the Republicans and all but 4 Democrats. Barack Obama voted in favor of the Immigration Reform Act of 2006.

Barack Obama voted in favor of the Immigration Reform Act of 2006.

References

[1] Website: Fox News Article: Justice Dept. Challenges Arizona Over Other Immigration Law Targeting Employers Author: Jim Angle Accessed on: 06/04/2010