Immigration Reform Rally 2010: Obama Tells Protesters He Will Fix 'Broken Immigration System'

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is reassuring immigration reform advocates that he is committed to working with Congress on a comprehensive bill to fix a "broken immigration system."

In a videotaped message presented on giant screens to thousands marching on the National Mall, Obama warned of the cost of inaction. He said problems with today's immigration system include families being torn apart, employers gaming the system and police officers struggling to keep communities safe.

Obama said he would do everything in his power to forge a bipartisan consensus on immigration reform this year.

Activists have been frustrated about the pace of that reform.

Obama's taped comments were released just as he worked to get last-minute votes on a health care overhaul.

Comments

[easttone]

02:16 PM on 04/20/2010

take the troops deployed over sea's bring them home, let the troops guard the boaders. create a half mile dead zone of space between our boarders and other countries. all people looking to become citisens may enter by way of waiting period you will be housed in a federal education center for 1 year while being taught the rules of the land. how to speak the official language english. and be given some type of job training. at the end of the year you will either pass the test or be shipped back home. also if you volunteer for military service the citisenship will be automatic once you have served. if i was tmexico and i knew the USA was giving amnesty again i would clean out the prisons and get these criminals across the boader as quick as possible.

[WhatChanged]

10:16 AM on 04/16/2010

Round 'em up and send 'em home.

[massjim]

07:27 PM on 04/15/2010

Every country guards their borders and controls immigration. It makes sense for the U.S to do so also, and it is only fair to have a well-defined way of entering the country and becoming a citizen.
Also we are in an economic crisis. Millions are here illegally and don't work ... those people are a burden on taxpayers. Millions are here illegally and ARE working ... those are taking jobs that should go to unemployed American citizens.

[Pippen]

07:32 AM on 04/14/2010

The yelling and screaming wont matter, they will all get AMNESTY, every last one of them.

Your vote means nothing.

Your opinions mean nothing.

Pass a state law signed by your Senators, it will be overturned by the Justice Department.

Scream, oppose, yell, vote, throw things at your walls, lay on the ground and kick your feet, doesnt matter none of it. This is NOT your country anymore, it BELONGS TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and 12 milion illegal immigrants.

[vippy]

11:16 AM on 04/16/2010

I guess we can look forward to this very same thing every 26 years. It is estimated that 20 million
illegals reside here and they will get rewarded for breaking the law.

[KenTomWil]

08:10 AM on 04/02/2010

Roy Beck blog: to see Roy's comments on the Washington run in with pro-immigration supporters,go to the URL link: http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/beckr/march-29-2010/thoughts-my-40th-anniversary-about-attempts-smear-numbersusa-hate-racis

[Gary Lloyd]

12:08 PM on 03/25/2010

Immigration Reform is a con, that's what I find the most disturbing thing.

It promotes the erroneous idea that because there's 20 million illegals here, our immigration laws need to be fixed.

The con is that the fix is to give amnesty to 20 million illegals.

[WhatChanged]

10:17 AM on 04/16/2010

Right on. Obomer wants to give amnesty and citizenship to these law breakers so that they can all worship at his feet and vote for him

[mainstreet mentor]

03:12 AM on 03/25/2010

These illegal immigrants don’t want to become citizens of the United States – they want to OWN it … by bringing their own culture, language, holidays, to re-establish them here – making U.S. soil Mexican; There are incidents depicting the Mexican flag on a flag pole OVER the United States flag, which had been taken down, and re-flown with the Stars and Stripes upside down; Arguments which predict these persons will become citizens, pay taxes, run for office, fight in our military, help pay off our debts will NEVER happen, because they want the United States to be an extension of Mexico. These illegals, (they are NOT “undocumented workers”), are foreign nationals within our country, and that fact makes them illegal immigrants, so refer to them as such. Instead of spending hundreds of millions to reform our immigration laws, that money need be applied it to such things as: Hiring more immigration lawyers; purchasing and constructing more holding cells; buy more vehicles; more scientific equipment – or whatever else is needed to ENFORCE EXISTING IMMIGRATION LAWS and deport those who do not want to become citizens, out of our country. We Americans did not cause economic conditions within their country. We Americans did not cause corruption in their country. We Americans attempt to fix our problems with elections and legislation. These illegal foreign immigrants can return to their country - and take the same steps to make their country more livable for themselves. Don’t bring it here.

[Gary Lloyd]

01:06 AM on 03/25/2010

The only way to fix our immigration laws is enforcement, which is why Chuck Schumer's bill is such a farce. In fact, this is why the entire "fix the broken immigration" argument is a non sequitur.

La Raza and the pro-amnesty people tell us the fix is to make the 20 million legal, but that's like saying the fix for drunk driving is to give all the DUIs their licenses back.

Making the 20 million legal may "fix" their problem, but it doesn't fix the immigration law they broke.

[WhatChanged]

10:18 AM on 04/16/2010

Ronald Reagan gave amnesty to the illegals and that did nothing but encourage more of the people to violate our borders and our laws.

Now Obomer wants to give amnesty so that he can get votes.

[you can call me Roy]

11:07 AM on 03/23/2010

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET

1 - A JOB,
2 - A DRIVERS LICENSE,
3 - SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
4 - WELFARE,
5 - FOOD STAMPS,
6 - CREDIT CARDS,
7 - SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,
8 - FREE EDUCATION,
9 - FREE HEALTH CARE,
10 - A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON
11 - BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE
12 - AND THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY’S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON’T GET ENOUGH RESPECT

[je7374]

11:01 AM on 03/24/2010

So your argument is we should become a 'communist' country?

[letsgo117]

03:01 PM on 03/27/2010

Actually if you're undocumented you are not able to obtain a SSN, therefore you can't drive. You can't get a good job either since you need documentation to prove that you're a resident. As for college, the same thing goes. You're not able to receive state grants nor loans. Please do more research before commenting. Also, for your information not all people are illegal because they crossed the border. Please keep in mind that not all undocumented people are from Mexico.

[WhatChanged]

10:19 AM on 04/16/2010

It's easier to get a fake SSN than it is to get a McDonald's happy meal.

Your argument doesn't hold water

[CarlosQC]

10:15 AM on 03/23/2010

Most undocumented immigrants are decent, hard working, good hearten people, with values that enrich the American society in ways that money can't pay for. These families are poor not by default, but because of racist unjust governments, especially in Latin America.

The Schumer-Graham bill in the Senate include four main goals: create an electronic Social Security card that will stop illegal employment, secure the borders and the interior so more undocumented immigrants enter the US, create an efficient guest worker program because its needed, and create a very strict and tough path for citizenship to those undocumented immigrants already here.

Immigration Reform is much needed, and is good for all Americans.

[Gary Lloyd]

10:29 AM on 03/23/2010

I lived in Mexico for six months and I must agree I found most people, hard-working, good, etc, etc.

You, however, know nothing about the 20 million illegals and that's because they did not go through the immigration process every country on the planet uses.

Immigrants must be screened.

It is how we protect ourselves; it is how we protect them; it is how they'd want to be protected from a horde of gringos invading their native land.

We must have immigration laws no matter how nice the people who want to come here are.

That's the bottom line.

[massjim]

07:32 PM on 04/15/2010

I agree with what you say here but I would make the following condition... before anything else, the U.S. government has to secure the borders. We see how that goes for a year to see if they are doing it effectively. We've gone the amnesty route and had promises of sealed borders before and the borders are still wide open.

[CarlosQC]

10:14 AM on 03/23/2010

The current US immigration legislation is obsolete, bureaucratic and failed, it makes it impossible for poor families to migrate legally. Immigration Reform is about building a better nation, where human dignity and justice is valued over xenophobic politics of racism and fear.

Immigration Reform is good for the economy and jobs: the legalization of over 12 million immigrants would bring $1.5 trillion dollars into the US economy in ten years, it would allow new citizens to open businesses, pay more taxes than what they pay now, create new jobs, improve their families and communities.

Deporting all undocumented immigrants would cost over $2.6 trillion dollars to the US in ten years, but most importantly it would worsen a humanitarian and economic crisis affecting over 45 countries deeply, while leaving US families divided, children without parents, entire communities affected.

This is 2010 not 1954 when the marriage of Barack Obama's parents was illegal. The US is now a less racist and xenophobic nation and it should not promote human displacement. This country has changed and it will continue changing, therefore its laws need to be reformed accordingly.

[Gary Lloyd]

10:36 AM on 03/23/2010

Twenty million Americans are out of work while twenty million illegals are employed.

You tell is there's no connection between the two because the illegal takes jobs Americans don't want.

I don't think this is true today nor in 1954 when Eisenhower rounded up and deported 1.3 illegals back to Mexico.

He did this because these illegals were taking jobs away from GIs returning from the Korean War.

It worked.

An economic boom followed.

And rest assured, if millions of gringos flooded Mexico no one in Mexico would be happy about this, so I suppose you'd call them racist too, huh?

[bmarin]

12:34 PM on 03/30/2010

fanned, I agree!

[Gary Lloyd]

10:19 PM on 03/22/2010

Eisenhower's Solution:

"Amnesty is the only solution" argument is part of the pattern of disinformation La Raza and other pro-amnesty people promote.

In 1954 Eisenhower rounded-up and deported 1.3 million illegal Mexican immigrants. He did this because they were taking jobs from returning Korean-War vets.

The program was an unqualified success: it not only reduced the amount of illegals to near-zero, it discouraged them from coming over for 40 years.

So history shows enforcement works.

Common sense tells us that unless we want this problem to continue, Eisenhower's solution is the only real choice we have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wetback

[je7374]

10:52 AM on 03/24/2010

The right wing of this country yells and screams about immigration but their hatred of labor makes it just talk.

Reagan's amnesty for illegals proved that.

[Avatar73]

12:01 PM on 03/22/2010

The bottom line is that America is a country, one seeking access to the country should @ least follow it's laws, or I don't think you will be a very good citizen of this country if your first act it to commit a crime. Apply for citizen ship like everybody else, just because your country boarders America doesn't give you the right to seek into this country, because if we invaded Mexico and forced the Mexican government to acknowledge all of our demands you would blow your top.

[Amalek]

01:36 PM on 03/22/2010

We all agree. Immigration reform will be about making clear what that application for citizenship will look like.

[Gary Lloyd]

07:32 PM on 03/22/2010

You're a little confused, pal.

Clarity is not the issue.

Everyone -- including the illegal -- knows sneaking over the boarder is wrong.

[WhatChanged]

10:25 AM on 04/16/2010

Good post.

[dubster]

11:22 AM on 03/22/2010

How sad. Immigration is the only issue that the right wing fringe has successfully manipulated white democrats. There are a few liberals that really get the whole immigration debate. This is not about law and order it about something more sadistic. Is it any coicidence that the clan is attracted to anti-immigration rallies? Or is that just some spurious correlation? Yeah I think not.

People need to learn about philosophy (specifically human nature), geopolitics, and economics; and not succumb to the propaganda of the right wing.

[Ohioliberal]

11:31 AM on 03/22/2010

Actually the issues are about laws and law enforcement

[dubster]

12:08 PM on 03/22/2010

No it's not. That's what you've been manipulated into believing. Look at every other issue that involves that law. The law touches nearly every issue, yet I bet you're as passionate as those ones, are you? The law touched the banking crisis but I bet you were more conciliatory about that.

Take a look in the mirror. It's your tribal and nativist impulses that are driving you and your stance in this issue.

[Amalek]

01:44 PM on 03/22/2010

Immigration reform is about laws and enforcement. Making laws that can be enforced.

Anti-reformers are for rounding up all the foreigners and somehow throwing them out of the country. However, the tea-baggers estimate of the number of illegals exceeds the number of teabaggers, so that ought to be a pretty interesting effort.

[Gasparilla]

12:49 PM on 03/22/2010

Your argument is like Hitler loved dogs, therefore if you love dogs, you are like Hitler. How about the issue of the environment? Are half a billion people in this country a good idea, when a lot of our wildlife species have been greatly reduced? Your feel good blather is just that. It's based on nothing, but you think only you "get" it.

[dubster]

02:18 PM on 03/22/2010

Your deep ignorance is ostensible.

It's funny you mentioned Hitler because it's an apt analogy. Part of his antipathy for non-German people and strategy for genocide was to depict Jews as sub-human, as "other", as different, as not being fully human. Much of the debate about immigrants has been reduced to that much. When describing undocumented immigrants as sub-human, as "illegals" instead of undocumented, as not fully human, as vermin, as leaches, as if they have no dignity is where much of this debate centers around.

It's very clear you know nothing about human nature, development economics, and the politics of race.

[Gasparilla]

02:46 PM on 03/22/2010

You have no wish to discuss any kind of facts. You just think you are superior to anyone that has a different opinion. You see other "white democrats" as being "manipulated", and you are one of the few smart enough not to fall for it. Your contention that this is "not about laws" is nonsense. I asked you about the issue of the environment. And....no response. Because it doesn't fit into your rant that there can't possibly be other issues other than "tribal and nativist impulses".

[Joemmm]

11:08 AM on 03/22/2010

I would like to see the number of people that can immigrant legally each year increased to a reasonable number. The problem we have with illegal immigration is that Congress since the 1960's never looked at the need of the expanding workforce. They sat a quota based on country and left it there. That quota needs to be looked at each year. One could say we could adjust it automatically based on some index which would gt Congress off the hook of visiting it every year. I think a reasonable amount of new green cards given out each year might be 1,200,000 or so. and and additional 2 million work permits. Then those that are here illegally can apply for either a green card or a work permit from there home country or there consulate offices here. But they would be illegal until received. This way would have the same chance of legally immigrating here as their fellow countrymen that follows the law.

[Temsi]

11:31 AM on 03/22/2010

Yes, the number should be increased and the regulations should be changed to prevent employers from abusing their immigrant workforce.

Anyone who applies for any kind of visa while here illegally, even if sponsored by an employer, faces the same issue. The application is a signed and dated admission of guilt (being here illegally).
Therefore, they'll be put onto two lists. The first list is to process their application. The second is for deportation.
Guess which list is processed faster.

Until this changes, there will be millions of people (who either got here illegally or came legally and overstayed their visas) who continue to live "underground." Until the laws change, that fact won't.

[Gasparilla]

12:51 PM on 03/22/2010

Great idea. We have millions out of work and let's increase the already high number of people coming legally, so we can reduce wages to next to nothing.

[Joemmm]

01:55 PM on 03/22/2010

Yes I agree with you on the deportation and the employer being prosecuted. In another post I said the employer, the owner or the CEO,CIO, CFO and such, should be criminally prosecuted and the company fined at least the entire wages earned by the illegal over the time the illegal was employed. I would even make wage earned the larger of the two: minimum wage or actual wage. That way there is no incentive for the business to hire an illegal.

To Gasparilla below. If this was implemented the number of illegals would fall and the number of possible positions for legals in the USA would rise. The 1,000,000 per year is a number that Congress should set based on the need of the work force. It could go up and down as needed. And we are already allowing ~500,000 to get green cards each year.

[Gary Lloyd]

07:40 PM on 03/22/2010

Using your logic all we'd have to do is legalize 60 million illegals and the recession would go away.

Here's an idea: Why don't we send them all back to Mexico so they can stop Mexico's recession first?

[Joemmm]

12:02 AM on 03/23/2010

I didn't say that. I said that Congress needs to make a yearly assessment of the number of immigrants we need for the work force both for green cards and for work permits. Then keep all the others out. By doing so it wold lessen the pressure to hire illegals.