Obama on Immigration: A Legacy of Failure 1st in a Series based on a Special Report "Detention, Deportation, and Devastation"

The views expressed in this series are entirely my own and do not necessarily represent those of the USHLI Board, staff, or our donors.

When a Latina leader referred to President Barack Obama as the "Deporter in Chief" earlier this year in Washington, DC, I felt a great sense of relief and revival.  At last, one of our leaders finally said what I am sure many of us had been feeling for years.  I for one had had my fill of his reprehensible anti-immigrant policies since the middle of his first term.  Those of us who had high hopes for change following the impactful marches of 2006 and the political sea change that followed can only conclude that Obama was ill-advised by his inner circle and ill-served by his staff from Day One on the issue of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.   

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) recently released a "must read" report entitled Detention, Deportation, and Devastation: The Disproportionate Effect of Deportations on the Latino Community. 

In my view the well-researched report chronicles the failures of a weak President and inept Congress.  The only thing the two branches agree on is that the system is broken.  Truth be told, they both lack the courage and the inner strength of their convictions to fix the problem. 

Meanwhile Obama is still telling anyone who will listen that he is the immigration champion!  As a candidate he told Latinos everywhere "Si Se Puede!"  Since his election all we've heard from him is "Yo No Puedo" and "No Se Puede".  Obama never will be our immigration champion because real champions don't squander opportunities to win, which he did five years ago.  He's a cheerleader, a Supporter in Chief.  That's all we have in the White House.  This is clearly our fight, which we have to win to save our families from his deportation policies.

In the Introduction the report states ".... the Obama Administration has implemented and pursued immigration enforcement policies and practices that have resulted in historically unprecedented numbers of removals/deportations of immigrants living ....in the United States.  The Administration's immigration enforcement choices carved swaths of devastation across the Latino community, leaving a humanitarian and moral crisis in its wake."  "The Latino community, correctly, assigns culpability to the Obama Administration due to the Executive Branch's plenary role in the execution of immigration enforcement."  (Part 2 next week)     

 

Juan Andrade, Jr.

USHLI President 

The Destruction of Latino Families At the Hands of The Gang of Three Continues

I first wrote about the hundreds of thousands of Latino fathers who couldn't be with their families on Father's Day two years ago, victims of political betrayal and dysfunctional government at the hands of the Gang of Three. The absence of so many fathers on Father's Day last Sunday prompted me to re-visit this sad tragedy - again, not as USHLI president but as a father. MALDEF, NHLA, and NDLON reportedly recently that over 5.5 million children have a parent who is undocumented, and 4.5 million of those children are U.S. citizens.  From 2010-2012 over 200,000 individuals with U.S.-born children were deported. Since 2012 this number has doubled. How many deported fathers missed their children's graduation this spring?  How many weren't present to hear their children's remarks as Valedictorians and Salutatorians?  How many have had to leave their wives behind to be the sole provider and protector? How many are not home to lead their families in prayer before meals or take them to church?  How many have had to leave their families mired in poverty and living in a constant state of uncertainty? So much missing out.  So much hardship, suffering and pain.  Just think about how much we as fathers do for our families every day and that all fathers should be able to do.  These are the things that deported fathers can't do now for their families because of the Gang of Three.  So who is this Gang of Three?  It's a Democratic Senate with cold feet.  It's a Republican House with a cold heart.  It's a President who reneged on his promise to Latino voters to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform in his first year.  Had the President kept his word when his party controlled both the House and the Senate, all the misery our families have endured over the last five years could have been avoided.          So let's remember our dearly deported fathers that again did not have a "Happy Father's Day" this year.  And those of us who can vote in 2014 need to remember these deported fathers and the millions of other individuals who have been wrongfully deported by this Gang of Three.  We gave these millions of people something to believe in 2008, watched the President betray them in 2009, then watched the House and Senate kick us around like a soccer ball in a game that will end in a scoreless tie.  Now, in 2014, Latino voters have another chance to get it right.  Remember the words of John F. Kennedy, who said, "don't get angry, get even."          Juan Andrade, Jr. USHLI President