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← Watch President Obama's Remarks on New Immigration Policy
For more on Vote 2012: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/politics/
As part of a new immigration policy change, President Obama announced Friday afternoon that the government will stop deporting young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
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Showing Revision 1, created 06/15/2012 by Claude Almansi .
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Title:Watch President Obama's Remarks on New Immigration Policy
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Description:
For more on Vote 2012: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/politics/
As part of a new immigration policy change, President Obama announced Friday afternoon that the government will stop deporting young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
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[Barack Obama] This morning, Secretary Napoletano announced new actions my administration will take
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to mend our nation's immigration policy, to make it more fair, more efficient and more just.
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Specifically for certain young people sometimes called dreamers.
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Now, these are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods,
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they are friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag.
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They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one:
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on paper.
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They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants.
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They often have no idea that they're undocumented
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until they apply for a job, or a driver's license, or a college scholarship.
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Put yourself in their shoes.
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Imagine you've got everything right your entire life,
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studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the top of your class,
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only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about,
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with a language that you may not even speak.
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That's what gave rise to the DREAM Act.
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It says that if your parents brought you here as a child,
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you've been here for 5 years and you're willing to go to college or serve in our military,
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you can one day earn your citizenship.
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And I said time and time and time again to Congress that:
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send me the DREAM Act, put it on my desk, and I will sign it right away.
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Now, both parties wrote this legislation
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and a year and half ago, Democrats passed the DREAM Act in the House,
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but Republicans walked away from it.
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It got 55 votes in the Senate but Republicans blocked it.
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The Bill hasn't really changed. The need hasn't changed.
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It's still the right thing to do.
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The only thing that has changed, apparently, was the politics.
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Now, as I said in my speech on the economy yesterday,
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it makes no sense to expel talented young people who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans.
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They've been raised as Americans, understand themselves to be part of this country.
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To expel these young people who want to staff our labs, to start new businesses or defend our country
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simply because of the actions of their parents, or because of the inaction of politicians.
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In the absence of any immigration action from Congress to fix our broken immigration system,
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what we've tried to do is focus our immigration enforcement resources in the right places.
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So we prioritized border security, putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history
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- today, there are fewer illegal crossings than at any time in the past 40 years.
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We focused and used discretion about whom to prosecute,
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focusing on criminals who endanger our communities
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rather than students who are earning their education.
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And today, deportation of criminals is up 80 percent.
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We've improved on that discretion carefully and thoughtfully.
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Well, today, we're improving it again.
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Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps
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to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people.
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Over the next few months, eligible individuals
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who do not present a risk to national security or public safety
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will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings
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and apply for work authorization.
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Now, let's be clear: this is not amnesty, this is not immunity.
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This is not a path to citizenship. It's not a permanent fix.
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This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely
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while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people. It is -
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[Off voice: inaudible]
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[Obama] It is the right thing to do.
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[Off voice:].... foreigners
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[Obama] Excuse me, sir. It's not time for questions, sir.
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[Off voice: inaudible]
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[Obama] Not while I'm speaking.
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Precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act.
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There is still time for Congress to pass the DREAM Act this year,
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because these kids deserve to plan their lives in more than two-year increments.
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And we still need to pass comprehensive immigration reform
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that addresses our 21st century economic and security needs.
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A reform that gives our farmers and ranchers certainty about the workers that they'll have.
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A reform that gives our science and technology sectors certainty
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that the young people who come here to earn their PhDs
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won't be forced to leave and start new businesses in other countries.
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A reform that continues to improve our border security,
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and lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
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Just six years ago, the unlikely trio of John McCain, Ted Kennedy and President Bush
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came together to champion this kind of reform.
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And I was proud to join 23 Republicans in voting for it.
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So there's no reason that we can't come together and get this done.
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And as long as I'm President, I will not give up on this issue,
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not only because it's the right thing to do for our economy - and CEOs agree with me -
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not just because it's the right thing to do for our security,
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but because it's the right thing to do, period.
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And I believe that, eventually, enough Republicans in Congress will come around to that view as well.
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And I believe that it's the right thing to do because I've been with groups of young people
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who work so hard and speak with so much heart about what's best in America,
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even though I knew some of them must have lived under the fear of deportation.
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I know some have come forward, at great risks to themselves and their futures,
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in hopes it would spur the rest of us to live up to our own most cherished values.
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And I've seen the stories of Americans in schools
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and churches and communities across the country
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who stood up for them and rallied behind them,
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and pushed us to give them a better path and freedom from fear
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because we are a better nation than one that expels innocent young kids.
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And the answer to your question, sir
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- and the next time I'd prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question -
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is, this is the right thing to do for the American people.
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They - [inaudible interruption]
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I didn't ask for an argument. I'm answering your question. [inaudible interruption]
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It is the right thing to do [inaudible interuption] for the American people. And here's why.
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Here's the reason: because these young people are going to make extraordinary contributions,
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and are already making contributions to our society.
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I've got a young person who is serving in our military, protecting us and our freedom.
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The notion that in some ways we would treat them as expendable makes no sense.
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If there is a young person here who has grown up here
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and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business
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that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work,
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that's the right thing to do.
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Giving certainty to our farmers and our ranchers;
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making sure that in addition to border security,
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we're creating a comprehensive framework for legal immigration,
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these are all the right things to do.
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We have always drawn strength from being a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws,
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and that's going to continue.
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And my hope is that Congress recognizes that and gets behind this effort.
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Alright? Thank you very much, everybody.
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[Off voice]... for last year.