Immigration Reform: President Obama Promises To Tackle Issue In 1st Year Of Second Term

CARTAGENA, Colombia — In his most specific pledge yet to U.S. Hispanics, President Barack Obama said Saturday he would seek to tackle immigration policy in the first year of a second term. But he cautioned that he would need an amenable Congress to succeed.

"This is something I care deeply about," he told Univision. "It's personal to me."

Obama said in the television interview that he would work on immigration this year, but said he can't get support from Republicans in Congress. Obama also tried to paint his Republican presidential challenger, Mitt Romney, as an extremist on immigration, saying that Romney supports laws that would potentially allow for people to be stopped and asked for citizenship papers based on an assumption that they are illegal.

"So what we need is a change either of Congress or we need Republicans to change their mind, and I think this has to be an important debate during – throughout the country," Obama said.

Romney aides have said that the former Massachusetts governor supports laws that would require employers to verify the legal status of workers they employ.

"President Obama only talks about immigration reform when he's seeking votes," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul. "Then-candidate Obama promised to tackle immigration reform in his first year. More than three years into his term, America is still waiting for his immigration plan."

Hispanics are an increasingly important voting bloc in presidential elections. Obama won a sizable majority of the Hispanic vote in the 2008 election and his campaign is hoping for similar results this November.

Obama spoke to Univision, a network widely watched by Latinos in the United States, while in Colombia for the Summit of the Americas.

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• The Naturalization Act of 1790

  The Naturalization Act of 1790 was our country's first set of laws dealing with citizenship. Applicants had to be "<a href="http://rs6.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001/llsl001.db&recNum=226 " target="_hplink">a free white person</a>" of "good moral character." This excluded indentured servants and slaves. Good moral character was substantiated by establishing residence for at least one year in the state from where he was applying, and at least two years of residence in the country. The Naturalization Act of 1795 would extend that requirement to five years, and is still standard today.

• The Fourteenth Amendment, 1868

  A Reconstruction Amendment that was added to the U.S. Constitution following the Civil War, the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment establishes for the first time that children born on U.S. soil would be conferred U.S. citizenship regardless of their parent's citizenship status, race, or place of birth. Last year, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) introduced the <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr140 " target="_hplink">Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011</a> to Congress, and challenged this. The bill would require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident for a child to be granted citizenship. According to the <a href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h140/text " target="_hplink">bill's text</a>, the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, and "clarify those classes of individuals born in the United States who are nationals and citizens of the United States at birth." Prior to this, Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/26/nathan-deal-georgia-lawma_n_207485.html " target="_hplink">introduced</a> a similar <a href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1868/show" target="_hplink">bill</a> in 2009.

• The Naturalization Act of 1870

  The Naturalization Act of 1870<a href="http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org/pages/chronology.htm " target="_hplink"> explicitly extended</a> naturalization laws to "aliens of African nativity and persons of African descent." This meant that for the first time, African-American children would be conferred citizenship upon birth. Asian immigrants and other people of color are excluded per the Naturalization Acts of 1790 and 1795.

• The Page Act of 1875

  Named after Republican Representative Horace F. Page, this is the first U.S. federal immigration law to explicitly prohibit the immigration of a particular group: persons of Asian descent. Primarily meant to limit Chinese immigrant labor and prostitution, the Page Act prohibited the immigration of: (1) contracted labor from "China, Japan, or any Oriental country" that was not "free and voluntary," (2) Chinese prostitution and (3) criminals and women who would engage in prostitution. Ultimately, the <a href="http://www.uchastings.edu/racism-race/pageact.html " target="_hplink">Page Act</a> severely <a href="http://immigration-online.org/228-page-act-united-states-1875.html " target="_hplink">restricted</a> the immigration of Asian women. Only 136 of the the nearly 40,000 Chinese immigrants who arrived in the months before the bill's enforcement were women. And, it would pave the way for the Chinese Exclusion Act. In this picture, Michael Lin, chair of the 1882 Project, a coalition of rights groups seeking a statement of regret over that year's Chinese Exclusion Act, speaks on May 26, 2011 in Washington, DC, at the US House of Representatives in front of a reproduction of a 19th-century sign that aimed at rousing up sentiment against Chinese Americans. Lawmakers introduced a bill that would offer an official statement of regret for the act, which banned further immigration of Chinese to the United States and ended citizenship rights for ethnic Chinese. (AFP PHOTO/SHAUN TANDON).

• The Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882

  Signed by President Chester A. Arthur, the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/seven/chinxact.htm " target="_hplink">Chinese Exclusion Act</a> was the first federal immigration law to prohibit immigration on the basis of race. The bill barred all Chinese laborers, skilled and unskilled, from immigrating to the U.S. for ten years. It was made permanent by 1903, and was not lifted until the 1943 Magnuson Act. The 1898 Supreme Court <a href="http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/exclusion.html " target="_hplink">decision</a> in <em>United States v. Wong Kim Ark</em> finally extended naturalization laws to persons of Chinese descent by ruling that anyone born in the United States was indeed a U.S. citizen. This editorial cartoon from 1882 shows a Chinese man being excluded from entry to the "Golden Gate of Liberty." The sign next to the iron door reads, "Notice--Communist, Nihilist, Socialist, Fenian & Hoodlum welcome. But no admittance to Chinamen." At the bottom, the caption reads, "THE ONLY ONE BARRED OUT. Enlightened American Statesman--'We must draw the line <em>somewhere</em>, you know.'" (Image Source: Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, vol. 54 (1882 April 1), p. 96. [Public domain], via <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_only_one_barred_out_cph.3b48680.jpg" target="_hplink">Wikimedia Commons</a>).

• The Naturalization Act of 1906

  The Naturalization Act of 1906 further <a href="http://www.understandingrace.org/history/gov/eastern_southern_immigration.html" target="_hplink">defined</a> the naturalization process: the ability to speak English was made a <a href="http://www.enotes.com/topic/Naturalization_Act_of_1906" target="_hplink">requisite</a> for immigrants to adjust their status.

• The Immigration Act of 1924

  U.S. President Coolidge signed this U.S. federal <a href="http://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/ImmigrationAct " target="_hplink">bill</a> into law. It capped the number of immigrants who could be admitted entry to the U.S. and barred immigration of persons who were not eligible for naturalization. And, as the Naturalization Act of 1790 required, an immigrant had to be white in order to naturalize. The quotas varied by country. Image Source: Flickr Creative Commons, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycmarines/6306315902/" target="_hplink">NYCMarines</a>.

• The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (The McCarran-Walter Act)

  The <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:zwaVG82lZisJ:www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/polsciwb/brianl/docs/1952McCarranWaltersAct.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjEwx76FIBTixZAfyncZz-1CSuSeciv5qB6vvWTrUfW58XRpXq8zkpnI57XSuuG5Bu-WSySGbEhxYvZxP7y6qDQuOsDhgDa6qUqUaJ8F4imTzKJsVtppHc_-eew2dK6vGhoIUZs&sig=AHIEtbTNQ5GFiNMVS-xyThq8VVSj_gG9KA " target="_hplink">McCarran-Walter Act</a> kept up the controversial Immigration Act of 1924, but <a href="http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/ImmigrationAct" target="_hplink">formally</a> ended Asian exclusion.

• Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

  When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, it <a href="http://library.uwb.edu/guides/USimmigration/1965_immigration_and_nationality_act.html" target="_hplink">abolished</a> the quota system that favored immigration from Europe and limited immigration from Asia and South America.

• Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

  The 1996 <a href="http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/PUBLAW/HTML/PUBLAW/0-0-0-10948.html " target="_hplink">Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act</a> (IIRIRA) is a piece of legislation that <a href="http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/1996_illegal_immigration_reform_and_immigrant_responsibility_act.html " target="_hplink">defined</a> an array of issues to do with legal and illegal immigration -- from outlining how border patrol agents should administer visa processing, to the minutiae of how to handle deportation proceedings -- IIRIRA established enforcement and patrolling practices.

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Comments

[mgpayne]

12:18 PM on 05/26/2012

Wasn't this one of the promises of his first term?

[spytheweb]

09:41 PM on 05/16/2012

"Hispanics are an increasingly important voting bloc in presidential elections. Obama won a sizable majority of the Hispanic vote in the 2008 election and his campaign is hoping for similar results this November."

"increasingly important voting bloc in presidential elections"? The Hispanic vote was 7.4% of the total vote in 2008. 43% of Hispanics live in California and Texas. If making their vote count they better start to live in other states and get away from the border.

People are leading people to believe the Hispanic vote is much larger than it actually is. Once Obama  is reelected Hispanics will be forgotten.

[yosop]

03:49 PM on 04/19/2012

Gee, when do the republicans and mitt romney talk about this issue?

[massjim]

04:03 PM on 04/18/2012

Surprise! When he spoke on Univision, he said he'd "work on" immigration reform. Did he say any particular reforms that he'd push for? And of course, he can only get it done if he can convince Congress that his ideas make sense.

[kenan01]

01:09 PM on 04/17/2012

Very bad reporting, He said he would "try" to work on it in his second term.

His promises are worthless.

Why does the liberal media pull this nonsense?

[discord1317]

09:25 AM on 04/17/2012

Obama's Blowing smoke again... Why not address the issue of over population due to a massive increase of illegals. How about the Unemployment status of our country due to these illegals taking our jobs. Our children going hungry, Our childrens lack of Education, Our children going without. While they continue to pop out baby after baby. Round them up and send them back. One more thing why are we asked to learn spanish to accomodate them, Shouldn't they learn english since they are moving into OUR country. We're not going to Mexico and demanding they learn English. When will our government get a clue.

[freedom1947]

10:49 AM on 04/17/2012

Pooper scoopers just lost two illegal employees. Ifn you hurry you can probably start tomorrow?

[TommyObama]

04:32 PM on 04/17/2012

Sounded more convincing in the original German.

[Jimmy0373]

09:04 AM on 04/17/2012

The only reason the President even cares is because He knows The Mexican and Black votes is what He needs to remain in office. He can lie, to make them see his way. They will do anything to get into our country, and if they think they can bring their whole family over and make them US citizens they are going to jump on that bandwagon. Just like the Black community did on first go around, and you see He hasn't helped them to well. Our President surely doesn't have a problem spending money, why not buy Mexico? Then He could get all the support He needs.

[brittadv2]

02:14 AM on 06/04/2012

Hello Jimmy I just would like to say this to you. Please stop mixing Mexicans issues with black issues, there not the same thing. I know they try to make it the same but they are very different indeed. Blacks never came to this Country for a better life, they were forced here. Once they got here they had to become slaves, help build a Country they knew nothing about and was forced to take American cultures as theirs. I agree with everything you said about the Mexicans, but blacks issues is no where near the same as Mexicans.

Nice post anyway :)

[Just Che No]

08:11 AM on 04/17/2012

More classic quotes from Obama's illegal alien Aunt Zeituni...

* “If I come as an immigrant, you have the obligation to make me a citizen.”

* "To me America's dream became America's worst nightmare. I have been treated like public enemy number one."

* “The system took advantage of me.” (She said of the process that gave her public housing.)

Hmm. Well, I don’t quite see it that way, but then that’s just me. Because in addition to living in public housing she is also receiving $700 a month in disability payments from the taxpayer. Some system; some advantage.

We'll get to Obama's illegal Uncle Omar soon. You remember him, the guy who smashed into a police car while driving drunk. The guy who still works illegally at a liquor store.

[alscotti57]

06:51 AM on 04/17/2012

deport barry to kenya

[Luweegee]

05:50 AM on 04/17/2012

Come on folks you have to read all about right here:
Dunham Obama Soetoro.com---then click on --One Mans Thoughts

[Michael Steaphens]

02:13 AM on 04/17/2012

Immigration reform is liberal double-speak for amnesty.At least I can say I didn't vote for such a non-rule of law President.

[dhtucson]

12:33 AM on 04/17/2012

No kidding!!!!!! After almost 3 years, numerous deaths along the border, a Guns for Mexico scandal and falling poll numbers, Obama suddenly cares deeply about this issue??? Wow....was it because not one but 2 of his relatives were here illegally and got caught (but not deported) or is because he's trolling for votes in November? In the last month he's shifted on Keystone, saying he now wants to open up the southern end of it right away, he pledges to resolve the gay marriage issue because he cares deeply about that too, and now immigration. Seems like a person who is losing ground and worried about re-election so he's making promises he's proven he won't keep. Obama should worry because after seeing Geithner on the Sunday shows this week, this administration is still in denial about the economy and higher taxes are assured so that he can keep spending. 67% of Americans polled last week believe the economy is in the tank and the Treasury Secretary is on national news saying the economy is doing so much better and getting stronger everyday, yet gas prices climb every week, unemployment creeped up again last week and hundreds of companies are projecting additional layoffs this year. If that's what recovery is to Obama, he doesn't deserve another 4 years.

[discord1317]

09:28 AM on 04/17/2012

Amen to that.

[spytheweb]

02:38 PM on 04/17/2012

What's a shame is out of 300 million people no one can find anyone that can run against him and beat him. What does that say about America?

[butterflyscents]

10:36 PM on 04/16/2012

Obama is using immigration reform, as he uses most everything else, only to be re elected. If he had felt that this was "personal" as he stated, he could have passed any immigration reform in his first two years when Congress was Democratic. Now he waits until, he says, "after he is re elected". Why does he really wait? Because he would alienate certain groups of voters no matter what he proposed...heavens to Betsy, he wouldn't dare make a controversial proposal for fear of losing votes. That is not the sign of a leader, that is the sign of an inept President. We have to start calling him to task...his excuses have to end!

[righteousindignation]

11:09 PM on 04/16/2012

his presidency has to end.

[flairbrusher]

09:34 PM on 04/16/2012

Oooh, I wonder how many MORE Mexican citizens will have to DIE because of secretly exported AMERICAN munitions? How many border patrol agents armed with squirt guns will die at the hands of Mexican Drug Lords? How many Americans will have NDAA used on them during Obama's second term, which will only come about through an EO suspension of the Constitution because of a manufactured CRISIS?

[fxcruiser]

05:42 PM on 04/16/2012

"President Obama only talks about immigration reform when he's seeking votes," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul. "Then-candidate Obama promised to tackle immigration reform in his first year. More than three years into his term, America is still waiting for his immigration plan."

I have no problem with people from other countries coming to the the USA to be residents as long as they do it withing the parameters of OUR laws.

And what is this headline?

"President Obama Promises To Tackle Issue In 1st Year Of Second Term "

What second term? Did the Democrats have another one of those behind closed door votes that nobody else knew about?