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Share at: http://www.ndlon.org/en/pressroom/press-releases/item/1087-reactions-delay-immigrant-rights-org

Contact: Hairo Cortes, 714.737.1069, cortes.hairo@gmail.com

 

Initial Reaction to Delay of Immigration Action

 In reaction to the President’s delay of Administrative Relief until after the elections, local immigrant rights organizations in the #Not1More Deportation Campaign released the following reactions:

 

 

“This delay shows why our communities have named President Obama the Deporter-in-Chief. Because of the current deportation machine, my father is set to leave the country this October. Unless the President sits down at the table with those directly affected and prompt action is taken to stop deportations, my family sees President Obama’s ‘administrative relief plan’ as just another broken promise. When he has the power to shut off the deportation machine, he instead allows it to instill fear in our communities and tear families apart.”

Gabriela Benitez, Undocumented Illinois

 

“With this decision Obama is once again ensuring his place in the history books as the Deporter-in-Chief. By refusing to reverse course on his disastrous policies in the name of political expedience, the President actively gives the green light to the continued devastation of immigrant communities and families across the country. The President only needs to consider the hunger strikes in detention centers and the civil disobedience actions across the country to understand that we have long since discarded the role traditionally assigned us: that of political pawns in an election cycle. We will continue to bring this fight to the President as long as it takes for him to do the right thing.” 

Angelica Chazaro, Northwest Detention Center Resistance

 

“Obama’s latest political game demonstrates clearly that the Democratic Party is choosing to fight for another potentially fruitless term in office at the expense of our lives and families. In Arizona, we have learned that our community’s bravery far surpasses that of any elected official.  With the announcement of the President’s cowardly delay on immigration relief, our support for the Democratic Party cannot be taken for granted.  Without affirmative relief for our families, we are calling for a boycott of the vote.  We cannot support a party that is destroying our families.”

Carlos Garcia, Puente Arizona

 

“We are sorely disappointed that once again our immigrant communities have become pawns in a political waiting game, and to what end? The democratic leadership seems just as willing to block immediate relief as Congress, while President Obama’s deportation and hyper enforcement machine keeps on grinding, detaining and deporting thousands more of our kin and loved ones, including thousands of LGBTQ undocumented people.  Make no mistake about it, we will remember the bitter taste of this come election time”

-Paulina Helm-Hernandez, SONG 

 

“We are outraged by the President’s decision to delay relief based simply on electoral politics. He broke his promise to millions of undocumented immigrants and their families that continue to face this administration’s deportation policies.  For LGBTQ undocumented immigrants, this delay means more waiting while they live in fear.  We call for all LGBTQ organizations to stand against this delay.  The lives of people in our community cannot wait for electoral politics.”

Zenen Jaimes Perez, Familia TQLM

 

“Communities will resist and fight until we achieve administrative relief from the government. We are not surprised at this development coming from the Washington political game.”

Jorge Torres, Unidad Latina New Jersey

 

“The community is tired of empty promises. Of seeing how our family members are devoured by the deportation machine that Obama and his administration created. President Obama shouldn’t act solely because he has promised relief twice, but because his administration created the current deportation crisis. The President should be ashamed of what he has done to our communities by creating deportation quotas, toughening field enforcement, border militarization, and allowing private prisons and corporations to make profit off of the criminalization of immigrants. His administration created this; they are the ones who need to fix it. Not one more deportation, not one more delay.”

Fernando Lopez, Congress of Day Laborers

 

“This President continues to reward those seeking to drag the country backwards, and punish millions all simply for the sake of electoral politics.  With this delay the President maintains a status quo that denies millions who help make this country run their basic human dignity. That status quo is unacceptable, and our community will continue to demonstrate the courage to demand change; courage we have yet to see from elected officials.  We will continue to model that courage as we demand relief from deportations.”

Adelina Nicholls, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights

 

“Once more, President Obama has chosen politics instead of doing the right thing. The Deporter-in-Chief and the Deportation Party have once again proven to be more concerned with elections than our immigrant community. After deporting 2 million undocumented immigrants, this President lacks the courage to turn course. This delay means that over 60,000 members of our community will be ripped apart from their families. As immigrant youth we are disgusted by this spineless decision and denounce President Obama for his failure in leadership. We cannot trust either political party to provide solutions and so instead we will continue to fight, with or without administrative relief.”

Luis Ojeda, California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance

 

“ICE continues to conduct early morning raids in Homestead, Florida, terrorizing our community.  How many more families will be separated because of the President’s delay?”

Jonathan Fried, We-Count!

 

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