Transcript of the presidents speech a few minutes ago: First, we’ll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel, so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings and speed the return of those that do cross over. Second, I’ll make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed. Third, we’ll take steps to deal, responsibly, with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country. I want to say more about this third issue, because it generates the most passion and controversy. Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we’re also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws. And I believe that they must be held accountable, especially those that may be dangerous. That’s why over the past six years, deportation of criminals are up 80%. And that’s why we’re going to keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. Felons; not families. Criminals; not children. Gang members; not a mom who’s working hard to provide for her kids. We’ll prioritize, just like law enforcement does every day. But even as we focus on deporting criminals, the fact is millions of immigrants in every state of every race and nationality still live here illegally. And let’s be honest, tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise, isn’t being straight with you. It’s also not who we are as Americans. After all, most of the immigrants have been here a long time. They work hard; often if tough low-paying jobs. They support their families. They worship at our churches. Many of their kids are American-born or have spent most of their lives here. And their hopes, dreams and patriotism are just like ours. As my predecessor, President Bush, once put it, “They are a part of American life.” Now, here’s the thing; we expect people who live in this country to play by the rules; we expect those who cut-the-line will not be unfairly rewarded. So we’re going to offer the following deal: If you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you are willing to pay your fair share of taxes, you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. That’s what this deal is. Now let’s be clear about what this deal isn’t. This deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. It does not apply to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future. It does not grant citizenship or the right to stay here permanently or offer the same benefits that citizens receive; only Congress can do that. All we’re saying is, “We’re not going to deport you.” I know some of the critics of this action call it “amnesty.” Well, it’s not. Amnesty is the immigration system we have today. Millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules, while politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes at election time. That’s the real amnesty – leaving this broken system the way it is. Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I’m describing is accountability; a common sense middle-ground approach. If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the country illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up. The actions I’m taking are not only lawful, they’re the kinds of actions that have been taken by every single Republican president and every single Democratic president for the last half century. And to those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer, “Pass a bill.” I want to work with both parties to pass a more permanent legislative solution. And they day I sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary. Meanwhile, don’t let a disagreement on a single issue be a deal-breaker on every issue. That’s not how our democracy works. And Congress certainly shouldn’t shut down our government again, just because we disagree on this. Americans are tired of gridlock. What our country needs right now is a common purpose; a higher purpose. Most Americans support the types of reforms I’ve talked about tonight. But I understand the disagreements held by many of you at home. Millions of us – myself included – go back generations in this country with ancestors who put in the painstaking work to become citizens. So we don’t like the notion that anyone might get a free pass to American citizenship. I know some worry that immigration will change the very fabric of who we are. Or take our jobs. Or stick it to middle class families at a time when they already feel like they’ve gotten a raw deal for over a decade. I hear those concerns. But that’s not what these steps would do. Our history – and the facts – show that immigrants are a net-plus for our economy and our society. And I believe it’s important that all of us have this debate without impugning each other’s character. Because for all of the back-and-forth of Washington, we have to remember that this debate is about something bigger: it’s about who we are as a country and who we want to be for future generations. Are we a nation that tolerates a hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law? Or are we a nation that gives them a chance to make amends, take responsibility, and gives their kids a better future. Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping parents from their arms? Or are we a nation that values families and works together to keep them together? Are we a nation that educates the best and brightest in our universities only to send them home to send them home to start businesses in countries that compete against us? Or are we a nation that encourages them to stay and create jobs here, create business here, create industries right here in America? That’s what this debate is all about. We need more than politics-as-usual when it comes to immigration. We need reasonable, thoughtful, compassionate debate that focuses on our hopes; not our fears. I know the politics of this debate are tough. But let me tell you why I have come to feel so strongly about it. Over the past years, I have seen the determination of immigrant fathers who worked two or three jobs without taking a dime from the government and at risk, any moment, of losing it all just to build a better life for their kids. I’ve seen the heartbreak and anxiety of children whose mothers might be taken away from them just because they didn’t have the right papers. I’ve seen the courage of students, who – except for the circumstances of their birth are as American as Malia or Sasha – students who have come out as undocumented in hopes they can make a difference in the country they love. These people – our neighbors, our classmates, our friends – they did not come here in search of a free ride or an easy life. They came to work and study and serve in our military. And above all contribute to America’s success. Tomorrow, I’ll travel to Las Vegas and meet with some of these students, including a young woman named Astrid Silva. Astrid was brought to America when she was four years old. Her only possessions were a cross, a doll, and the frilly dress she had on. When she started school, she didn’t speak any English. She caught up to other students by reading newspapers and watching PBS. She became a good student. Her father worked in landscaping; her mother cleaned other peoples’ homes. They wouldn’t let Astrid apply to a technology magnet school, not because they didn’t love her, but because they were afraid that the paperwork would out her as an undocumented immigrant. So she applied behind their back and got in. Still, she mostly lived in the shadows. Until her grandmother, who visited every year from Mexico, passed away, and she couldn’t travel to the funeral without risk of being found out and deported. It was around that time she decided to begin advocated for herself and others like her. And today Astrid is a college student working on her third degree. Are we a nation that kicks out a striving, hopeful immigrant like Astrid? Or are we a nation that finds a way to welcome her in? Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger. For we know the heart of a stranger. We were strangers once, too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too. And weather our forebearers were strangers who crossed the Atlantic or the Pacific or the Rio Grande, we are here only because this country welcomed them in and taught them that to be an American is about something more than what we look like or what our last names are or how we worship. What makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an ideal that all of us are created equal. And all of us had the chance to make of our lives what we will. That’s the country our parents and grandparents and generations before them built for us. That’s the tradition we must uphold. That’s the legacy we must leave for those who are yet to come. Thank you. God bless you. And god bless this country we love.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 02:21:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015