By Elvira Arellano
(JAN.29.2014).- The greatest danger any movement faces comes from depending on allies that betray it.
The President unveiled a series of actions he will take this year, using his Presidential powers in the face of a divided government, but he stopped abruptly when it came to using his executive powers to stop the deportations. Instead he appealed to Congress to pass immigration reform and argued that legalization would provide great benefits to the economy.
We can only conclude that this is yet another betrayal by a President who has promised us again and again, been rewarded with our votes again and again and then broken his promises, again and again.
Why? We need to know why he has treated our community so badly!
In spite of the fact that the President argued that legalization would benefit the economy and create more jobs he has instead pursued a super-enforcement policy to clear out 2 million low wage jobs for those whose unemployment had run out and were now willing to take those jobs. That has been the reason for his super enforcement: to open up the low wage jobs held by hardworking undocumented men and women, father and mothers of dreamers and U.S. citizen children. That is the truth.
Once we recognize that truth we can understand the hypocritical position that the democrats have taken. Under the direction of the White house, they have cleverly sabotaged reform legislation and found ways to blame legislative failure on the Republicans. The tea party faction has been all too willing to take the blame to satisfy racist sentiments in their gerrymandered districts.
The President’s policy has been hypocritical, in violation of basic human rights and bad for the economy. By his own arguments, legalization would have benefitted the economy and provided more well paying jobs to U.S. citizens. Yet he was afraid to face the short term political image of legalizing millions while U.S. citizens faced unemployment – even though legalization would have provided more jobs by stimulating the economy.
The President now wants to focus on “income inequality.” Yet it was his policy to address the economic crisis he faced coming into office by bailing out the banks, insurance companies and large corporations instead of creating a major jobs program. The consequence of this was to deepen income inequality in this country in ways that will take decades to overcome. And his initiative to overcome income inequality is another political ploy, a proposal to increase the minimum wage, a proposal he knows will fail in the Republican controlled Congress.
We have to admit that this is a President who puts partisan politics above good policy – and above human rights. What does that mean we should do?
We must focus our demand on the President to use his executive powers to extend the deferments he gave the dreamers to their parents and the parents of U.S. citizen children. If we are unified in that demand we can stop the deportations and bring our people out of the shadows this year. It is also the only way we can stop the White House from sabotaging reform legislation by letting the President know that the failure of immigration reform will fall at his door.
We so much wanted the first African American President to succeed in bringing the call for justice of the civil rights movement to the whole nation. Let us give him one more chance to redeem himself. Mr. President, you have deported two million people and brought unspeakable pain to countless families. You have the power to stop any more of these deportations. Do the right thing!
