Sunday, December 22, 2013

Obama... Make due on your promises

USCIS Border Patrol randomly checking people @Bayfront Reggae Festival Duluth MN July 20th, 2013 


Those of you that follow my blog know that I am a staunch supporter of President Obama. I was very much a supporter of him throughout both of his campaigns. Obama has brought about a positive momentum of change and progressiveness. One of the pieces that I would like to draw attention to is Immigration reform. As we all know Obama campaigned heavily on this platform. Immigration reform was one of the foundation pieces that he consistently messaged about. 

I truly believe that Obama got elected partially because of his stance on the urgency for Immigration reform. I think we can all recall his message of we are not going to split up families. He messaged about the importance of taking action against those that are harmful to the US. While Obama has taken the firm and necessary action to ensure that our soil is safe from immigrants that are harmful to the safety of America, he has come up short in the area of pathways to citizenship (which was a major promise he made in his campaign).

As a second term president, why is he not taking action? Was this just a promise to get re-elected? It is disappointing to me that the Immigration system continues to be broken. When will we be taking a more aggressive approach to reform Immigration. While there is talk or rumoring of amnesty, this alone does not solve the Immigration nightmare we are all in. The amnesty provision would help those that are here illegally. What about those that have chosen to follow the Immigration process? Those individuals that are here legally are trapped in a never-ending bottle neck. There is no accountability, no timetable, and little to no communication. 

What is needed is a massive overhaul of the entire Immigration system. While I understand that Obama needs bipartisan support to take certain actions regarding Immigration reform, there are a number of actions that he can take without any need for the approval of others. He needs to hold those that work in the area of Immigration Enforcement accountable for quality job performance. He needs to demand a high level of professionalism. He needs to also make it perfectly clear that the Department of Homeland Security needs to have a mindset of customer service. He has demanded this in the past but clearly has not enforced it. 


In order for any progress to be made in the area of Immigration Reform, the president needs to take a firm stand and follow through on it. Obama you need to make good on the promises you made which got you elected.
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