Obama’s border visit renews focus on immigration policy

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

President Obama will stand on the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday and try to take credit for something that eluded predecessors in both parties: successfully cracking down on illegal immigration.

It is a record that Republicans roundly dispute. And it has drawn fire from many in Obama’s Latino base, who say the president has stepped up enforcement measures such as deportations while failing to deliver on his pledge to create a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

But in using the El Paso speech to highlight his enforcement record, Obama will signal that he intends to try turning the immigration debate into a political winner among conservative swing voters who back tougher immigration policies.

The president is expected to reel off what his aides say is evidence of an unprecedented focus on border security: hundreds of millions of dollars spent since he took office on high-tech fencing, aerial drones and a doubling of the border patrol since 2004. The result, aides say, has been a steep decline in illegal incursions and plummeting crime rates in U.S. border communities from Texas to California.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas_border_visit_renews_focus_on_immigration_policy/2011/05/09/AF7cPMcG_singlePage.html

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In September 2010, the Post reported that illegal immigration declined during the late 2000s.

And read the fifth paragraph quoting a Clinton admin official stating that Obama will speak about immigration REFORM too. I cut it off due to DU copyright rules.

[Kali]

1. ...

:puke:

more progressive, liberal change!

[Tx4obama]

3. See comment #2 n/t

[Kali]

6. really biased if so

strange to have it slanted like that, usually the criticism is slanted the other way...

[Tx4obama]

8. See comment #7 :) n/t

[Tx4obama]

2. I think the article is wrong (and probably written by a republican).

Reading the article you come away thinking that Obama is going to boast about border security as the main thing in his speech. THAT IS WRONG and MISLEADING!

President Obama is going to give a speech about IMMIGRATION REFORM.

LOOK at all the tweets the White House has tweeted regarding immigration REFORM over the past couple of days on the link below:

http://twitter.com/whitehouse

[alp227]

4. a quote in the article fifth paragraph affirms

“He is championing what Latinos are looking for, which is real immigration reform, while at the same time he is being a spokesperson for serious improvements in border enforcement, which independent voters support,” said Doris Meissner, who was the Clinton administration’s top immigration official.

[Tx4obama]

5. The first White House tweet egarding Obama's speech....

May 6th

BREAKING: Obama immigration reform speech Tues in El Paso. Use #immigration to share thoughts now, during, after. 8:00 AM May 6th via web

http://twitter.com/whitehouse


p.s. There are SEVERAL tweets there regarding The Immigration REFORM speech and one even about the Dream Act.

[Tx4obama]

7. Here's a more fair article

Immigration reform taking center stage in Texas

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama heads to El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday to give a speech on the need for comprehensive immigration reform -- a perennial hot-button political issue that both Democrats and Republicans hope to use to their advantage in 2012.

Obama has held a series of meetings with key Latino officials and reform advocates in recent weeks. Despite an aggressive push for substantive policy changes from his political base, the president recently indicated he has ruled out acting on his own to implement provisions of a reform bill that failed to win congressional approval last year.

Nevertheless, immigration reform "remains a priority" for the administration, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. There has been bipartisan support for reform in the past, Carney noted, and "we think we can build support for it again in the future."

The issue requires "focus," "education," and "persistence," Carney said. "The sooner it gets done, the better for the country."

SNIP

Rest of article here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/09/obama.immigration/index.html

[Kali]

9. quite the contrast

:crazy:

[AlphaCentauri]

10. The border is secure now

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/02/fox-news-poll-secure-border/