Activists Press President Obama for Bold Action on Immigration ...back >
July 10, 2014 - The Dream Action Coalition held a briefing in the Capitol Visitor Center on "What Can President Obama Do Executively on Immigration."  President Obama announced on June 30 that in view of House Republicans refusal to act on the issue, he was "beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress."  Immigration reform activists are pushing President Barack Obama to take bold, strong executive action. 

Left to right are Cesar Vargas, director of the Dream Action Coalition, Erika Andiola, co-director of the Dream Action Coalition, Eddie Carmona, campaign manager of the PICO National Network, Jessica Kark, legal counsel of the National Day Labor Organizing Network; Congressman Luis Guiterrez (D-IL), speaking; Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ); and Lorella Praeli, legislative director of the United We Dream Network.
Congressman Guiterrez responded to Obama's recent remark that, "We need to right-size expectations," stating, "We don't want him to right-size it.  We want him to super-size it."
Congressman Grijalva reminded the audience of a Jan. 24 letter, signed by 34 members, sent to President Obama urging him to "suspend any further deportations." 

The question of how to address illegal immigration remains one of the most vexing issues facing the federal government; the Hispanic community in particulary has been affected by a high number of deportations.  On June 15, 2012 the Obama Administration announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative.  About a year later, on June 27, 2013 the U.S. Senate passed immigration reform legislation (the so-called Gang of Eight bill), by a vote of 68-32.  Since then little has been accomplished.  In March 2014 Obama had asked the Department of Homeland Security to review deportation policies, but in late May he delayed that in hopes of congressional action.  These activists want at a minimum to expand DACA ("DACA para todos.")

The Dream Action Coalition advisory on this event states, "Currently, Dreamers have been offered deferred action status as part of the Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. However, parents, older adults, even Dreamers who missed the cut-off age continue to fear being separated by their families as they can be deported anytime." 
Jessica Kark, legal counsel of the National Day Labor Organizing Network, said there are two questions at issue: What can the president do, and what should the president do?  She discussed what Obama has the legal authority to do and said there is much he can do with a stroke of the pen. 

Lorella Praeli, legislative director of the United We Dream Network, reviewed "the history and success" of DACA and called for "a DACA-like program at the very least."  She said that it is clear that Speaker Boehner and the Republican leadership are not committed to immigration reform, so it is up to the President.  "We are not playing games," she stated.

Eddie Carmona of the PICO National Network, a faith-based group active in 17 states, stated, "People in our congregations are being deported and families are being separated."   "We just want to make sure that the president goes big," he said.

Erika Andiola of the Dream Action Coalition told how her mother had been put on a bus and almost deported.  She decried the "deportation machine," called for an end to Secure Communities (a program to identify criminal aliens/immigrants), and urged attendees to write letters and make calls to the president.

The long simmering issue of deportations has been compounded in recent weeks by an increasing number of immigrant children from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador illegally crossing the Southwest border.  President Obama recently sought a $3.7 billion emergency supplemental appropriation to address that problem [letters].
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