What Americans Need to Hear but Won't During Obama's Immigration Speech

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Jun 30, 2010, 06:31 ET

FAIR Available for Post-Speech Analysis

WASHINGTON, June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tomorrow's address by President Obama on immigration policy at American University will likely be an attempt to convince the American public that the price of securing the nation's borders must be amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and vastly increased levels of future immigration to the United States. These demands amount to extortion of the American people and their interests in pursuit of the Obama administration's political goals, claims the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

"Since taking office, the Obama administration has overtly held enforcement of immigration law hostage to their political goal of mass amnesty and immigration on demand," stated Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "The administration has systematically dismantled nearly all aspects of U.S. immigration enforcement, and is aggressively attacking state and local enforcement strategies implemented to fill the void left by the federal government."

The president is also likely to invoke "humanitarian" pleas, arguing that enforcement of U.S. immigration laws would create hardships on illegal aliens and their families. Such assertions are a radical departure from legal jurisprudence which, in all other circumstances, holds the people who break laws responsible for consequences to themselves or family members.

As the president speaks about this important policy tomorrow, there are key issues that need to be addressed, says FAIR:

Why isn't the Obama administration addressing needed upgrades in border security that the president himself acknowledges, even in the absence of the sweeping legislation he is seeking?
In addition to the expected federal suit against Arizona, why is the Obama administration tying the hands of state and local governments that attempt to enforce immigration laws?
How can the Obama administration justify amnesty for 13 million, or more, illegal aliens at a time when some 25 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed?
How would the Obama administration ensure the integrity of the amnesty process when high level officials at DHS have stated that such a policy would create "the mother of all backlogs"?
How would state and local governments cope with costs associated with the legalization of millions of illegal aliens who will likely continue to be low wage earners who must be heavily subsidized?

"After systematically gutting immigration enforcement for the past 18 months, what we hear from the White House is that the only way to fix our immigration policy is to capitulate to amnesty and de facto open borders," charged Stein. "President Obama owes it to the American people to explain why, in his administration, the interests of illegal aliens and cheap labor employers are consistently championed at the expense of law-abiding citizens and even at great risk to homeland security.

"Amnesty for illegal aliens and open borders are not just this administration's top immigration priority; they are the administration's only immigration priority. The president's refusal to exercise his constitutional responsibilities, coupled with his aggressive attempts to prevent state and local governments from enforcing immigration laws, make it very clear that the administration will go to any length to achieve their political objectives," Stein concluded.

SOURCE FAIR