PRESIDENT Obama addressed growing frustration on immigration issues, telling Hispanics and immigration rights activists that presidential action is “not a question of if, but when.”
Obama spoke Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala dinner, warning activists that his eventual actions will spark “intense political opposition that could threaten the durability of what he does.”
In a partisan speech a month before Election Day, the President urged the Latino community across the US to vote, and to continue pushing for a better future for immigration reform.
“The moment I act—and it will be taking place between the November election and the end of the year—opponents of reform will roll out the same old scare tactics,” Obama said in his address. “When opponents are out there saying who knows what, I’m going to need you to have my back.”
Obama was once hailed as a champion for Hispanic rights, but his relationship with the Latino community has weakened since his decision last month to abandon his earlier pledge to act quickly to help illegal immigrants in the US. Instead, he said he would wait until after the upcoming Nov. 4 elections, aggravating immigration rights activists who accused the president of “putting politics ahead of their families.”
The White House has been aloof in its actions regarding immigration policy, unsure of the Obama administration’s next move. Legal experts differ about how far he can go without Congress, and activists are calling for the president to act “aggressively” to free a sizable portion of the 11.5 million illegal immigrants fearing deportation.
Some Republicans argue that Obama’s willingness to ignore existing laws is a main reason they are hesitant to work with him to pass new ones.
“The president’s promise isn’t about making the best policy or enforcing the law–it’s an admission that his pledge to not uphold the law in the future would be bad for his part now,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).
With Obama taking a chance on his Hispanic voters, who may swing towards politicians who promise quicker and sweeping reforms to the current immigration system, the president argued that executive action could not be as comprehensive as what Congress could do, and instead urged the Hispanic community to keep voting.
“Yes we can—if we vote,” he said, first in Spanish and then English, twisting his original campaign slogan from 2008.
The president was received by a mostly warm audience inside the convention center, with demonstrators protesting Obama’s delay gathered outside.
At the event, Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) also said that Hispanics were looking to President Obama for “big, bold, unapologetic relief [for immigrants] without delay.”
“We need major reforms, we need them now,” Menendez said. “And Mr. President, we need your help.” (With reports from the Associated Press.)
