for immediate release // excuse cross-posting
Contact: B. Loewe, NDLON, 773.791.4668
President Obama is Far from Being Champion-in-Chief, Immigration Policies Must Evolve
March 06, 2014 – Los Angeles, CA
In response to the President’s statement that he is a “champion-in-chief” for immigrant communities, Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following statement:
“As long as the President’s Se Communities deportation policy resembles Arizona’s SB1070 more than California’s TRUST ACT, he has no business claiming to be a champion of anything other than the misery that his policies have propagated.
His statement is simply not true. The President has not done nearly enough to exercise discretion using existing laws. To the contrary, his excercise of discretion has been inadequate and counterproductive. The good news is that he still has time to be a champion for immigrants, but his position on immigration will have to evolve- and very quickly- to earn that title. We judge his actions and not his rhetoric because words don’t provide relief but his pen can.
It’s clear that the fight for immigration reform is entering a new stage, and immigrants and their organizations are issuing a declaration of independence from partisan politics. We will hold friends and foes accountable, as we seek solutions to address the deportation crisis in furtherance of equality. “
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