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President Obama unveils bold new immigration policy

by Saleem Rana
6.15.12, Washington, D.C. --In what some are calling a campaign move and others praise as a positive step, President Obama unveiled his bold new immigration policy on Friday.
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6.15.12, Washington, D.C. --In what some are calling a campaign move and others praise as a positive step, President Obama unveiled his bold new immigration policy on Friday.

In an early afternoon press conference held in the White House Rose Garden, the president outlined some new rules for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.. Young illegal immigrants would no longer be deported so high schoolers looking to graduate can breathe a lot easier knowing they can go on to apply for employment or financial aid for college. One high school student in New York smilingly said she no longer has to live in "shame and fear" for what her future would hold and thanked the president for "thinking of us."

The president said this was a move towards a "more humane deportation policy" and gives children who came here very young, a chance to go on to be productive in this country, adding, "These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they're friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag--they are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one--on paper."

Though he said this was the humane route to take, the president added that this new policy was in no way a panacea for all of we face but more of a temporary measure, saying: "This is not amnesty, this is not immunity, this is not a path to citizenship...this is not a permanent fix."

Under the new policy, anyone who entered the U.S. before the age of 16 and are still under 30, with no criminal record, will have an opportunity to apply for work permits, effective immediately. But they also have to meet a list of other requirements before they can apply.

They must have lived within our borders continuously for five years, must be enrolled in school or have a high school diploma or GED or have served in the military.

But critics accuse him of pandering to the Latino vote. Republicans feathers are very ruffled by this latest stance on illegal immigration-- with the exception of New York City's mayor Micheal Bloomberg, who praised the president for breaking Washington's gridlock on this important issue.

Other Republicans, however, say Obama is "overstepping his bounds," calling the new proposed measure unconstitutional. These same republicans have shot down immigration reform, voting a resounding no for the Dream Act, which would have given undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. for a number of years, a "path to citizenship."

Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney weighed in hours after the president's unveiling, taking a swipe at the new immigration policy. Staying on point in his campaign message of "Obama is bad for America," he criticized in a passive aggressive way, telling reporters that although we had to find long-term solutions to our illegal immigration problem, the president's new plans would make achieving that "more difficult."

A bit of early afternoon drama unfolded when at one point during his announcement, president Obama was rudely interrupted by a reporter from an online blog. The president was clearly annoyed when he answered curtly, that he wasn't taking any questions at the that time and would like to be allowed to finish his speech.

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by Wake up
A failed presidency that has been busy promoting war and fascism for almost 4 years, the same as the Republicans as they both represent the same capitalist class, which is facing an uphill battle in an election campaign and immigrant sit-ins at its election fraud offices came up with a publicity stunt to simply get rid of the sit-ins, so he could continue to perpetrate war and fascism to maximize the profits of the capitalist class, the reason why that class selected him in the first place. There is nothing bold about a temporary executive directive for a handful of children in a campaign that has absolutely no interest whatsoever in doing anything to promote full amnesty to all undocumented immigrants who can prove they have been here at least a year, the only viable solution.

The presidential campaign in a large country like the US is a referendum on the economy, which is sinking to the bottom of the sea. The voting population is overwhelmingly white property owners who make over $100,000 a year. About 100 million adults vote in the presidential election, about 50% of the adult population, the non-voters being overwhelmingly workingclass, the 80% of us who sell our labor for les than $77,000 a year. About 9 million adults are Latino voters. About 16 million adults are African-American voters. The Asian-American population of all age groups is 5% of the national population, and a much smaller group are registered voters. The rest of the 100 million voters are white, European descendants who, at best, do not care about immigration, and more often, are hostile to any immigration reform. THE WHOLE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION DOES NOT EXIST FOR MOST VOTERS.

A sinking economy is good for getting rid of incumbents. We have had another 4 years of war and fascism, the same as exists almost all the time in the USA under all presidents, and is worse as capitalism decays. Vote socialist or Green in all elections for all offices, and if they are not on the ballot, skip the people section and just vote on the propositions.
by PrionPartyy
Obama failed in HIS JOB to enforce US immigration laws, so Obama decided to change HIS JOB. And now Obama thinks/feels that he has one less failure to bring to the election.

Not going to work
by indyradio.nu
This is bogus. Too little too late. 30 years old and younger is a really retarded restriction - there are people who have been in this country for decades who deserve a chance, some have already endured detention and harassment by the DHS, an organ of gov't just like the old Soviet Union used to have.

We are the evil empire.
by indyradio.nu
WASHINGTON — “He has done with one swoop of the pen, he has mended a relationship with the Latino community that has been frayed,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez told me Friday afternoon, after President Barack Obama announced that students in the U.S. illegally — through no fault of their own — will not be deported.

yeah, but I still say d'Oh to the larger picture. why couldn't
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