President Obama Barely Mentions Immigration in SOTU
Although immigration reform was a common theme in speeches made by Candidate Obama, immigration was barely mentioned by President Obama in his State of the Union (“SOTU”) speech to Congress last week. On immigration, the President said this:
We’re going to crack down on violations of equal pay laws — so that women get equal pay for an equal day’s work. And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system — to secure our borders and enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.
In the end, it’s our ideals, our values that built America — values that allowed us to forge a nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe, values that drive our citizens still. Every day, Americans meet their responsibilities to their families and their employers. Time and again, they lend a hand to their neighbors and give back to their country. They take pride in their labor and are generous in spirit. These aren’t Republican values or Democratic values that they’re living by, business values or labor values. They’re American values.
Many immigration advocates were disappointed in the lack of details in the President’s SOTU address. Clearly, the financial crisis, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Health Care debate have dominated President Obama’s agenda, even though Candidate Obama stressed the importance of immigration reform as a critical issue facing the country. After the Republican win in Massachusetts, which enables Republicans to block the 60-vote super-majority the Democrats had previously enjoyed in the Senate, the President is changing his legislative priorities. It now appears that the President intends to devote his attention to job creation and expanding government programs in transportation and energy consumption. That will push immigration reform lower on the list of priorities and will likely delay immigration reform for another year or longer.
