Local residents oppose immigration order By Rachel Bunn December 4 Daniel McMullen reads a statement Wednesday to Hal Turner, district office manager for U.S. Rep. Todd Young, during a protest against President Obama’s immigration policy at Young’s office. Jeremy Hogan | Herald-Times Amy Jen came to America from Taiwan in 1976 on a student visa. Twelve years later, after multiple tests and a year stay in her home country while she waited for a green card, Jen became an American citizen. She didn’t mind the hard work, the five years of studying for her citizenship test or even the year she had to return to Taiwan — it’s the law, and Jen was happy to follow it. What Jen does mind is what President Barack Obama did more than a week ago when he issued an executive order that would allow about 4.4 million illegal immigrants who are parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to remain in the country without threat of deportation. “Is this (a) double-standard?” Jen asked. “The rest of us have to go through lots and lots of loops, hoops to get here.” Jen was one of about 20 local residents who protested the president’s order and delivered letters Wednesday to the Bloomington office of 9th District Rep. Todd Young, asking the Republican congressman to take a stand against the president’s executive order. “President Obama’s job is to enforce the immigration laws currently on the books; it is not to rewrite laws,” said Bob Hall, leader of the Grassroot Republicans and the event’s organizer, reading from his letter. Speakers called on Young to take action and try to reverse the president’s order if possible. “He threatened to do it and he finally did it,” Hall said. “Someone needs to speak up.” The local protest comes on the same day Indiana Gov. Mike Pence directed the state of Indiana to join a lawsuit to rule the president’s executive action unconstitutional. There are 17 states that filed suit. “This lawsuit is not about immigration. It is about denying states such as ours the opportunity to be represented in policy making through our elected members of Congress,” Pence said in a statement. At the rally, Nelson Shaffer, who ran unsuccessfully for county council as a Republican this year, said the election should have been a sign that people were unhappy with action taken by Democrats at the federal level. “What sort of message can the people send to be heard?” Shaffer asked. Representatives of Young’s office assured the protesters that the congressman would get their letters and those residents who wanted them would receive responses. John Fox wondered asked if the responses would just list the congressman’s concerns or if any action would be proposed. “Concern does nothing — his action is what we want,” Fox said. In a statement, Young said the House already passed legislation that would divert more resources to securing the southern border and enforcing existing laws. “I had hoped we could use that legislation as a starting point next Congress to build deliberative and bipartisan consensus; instead, the president has decided to pursue a blatantly political course that jeopardizes the open dialogue and true immigration reform so many of us were hoping for in coming months,” Young said. Jen said the thing that makes America great is that people follow and respect the laws. The executive order bothers her so much because it seems to fly in the face of that. “I wish I could ask President Obama: What is the law?” Jen said.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:44:20 +0000
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