Either you have it or you don’t, a pacakge of characteristics that defies description…the “it factor”. Needless to say, President Obama has “it”. He is the one person who could eloquently precisely why our nation needs to reform its immigration laws.
According to an article on washingtonpost.com: “A bipartisan group of lawmakers emerged from a White House meeting with President Obama today confident that the president is ready to put his political weight behind an comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws.”
Efforts at immigration reform failed twice in the past few years and although the economy is improving, US unemployment remains high. Throw in the vocal anti-immigrants and we have three reasons why passing CIR will not be a walk in the park.
Having said that, there are always reasons for the government to delay tackling this vitally important issue. Anyone who is involved in the “imigration machine” on a daily basis will attest to the fact that the current system is not working. If the IRS treated taxpayers the way immigrants are treated by the bureaucratic agencies that handle US immigration, Congressional hearings would be sure to follow and heads would roll.
We need immigration reform to improve the flow of legal immigration, reunite family members and not leave foreign-nationals in limbo and at the mercy of a broken, schitzophrenic system. We need to bring the undocumented out of the shadows so that these people can: contribute to our economy by paying back taxes and a fine, learn English, and protect our nation by identifying these individuals by running thorough background checks.
From the comments in the article by Senators Reid and Schumer, it seems that the Senate has the votes to pass CIR. Considering the silence from the House and Press Secretary Gibbs’ comment about not having the votes – it seems that the President will need to cast his spell on a few congressmen and women.
Getting CIR through both houses of Congress won’t be easy, but it is the right thing to do and President Obama is the right man to do it.
Please visit our website at www.immigrantconnect.com.
