Obama Expels 46 Percent More “Undocumented” Immigrants Than Bush

Does Obama think he has secured the Latino vote? If so, the U.S. president could be in for a rude awakening in 2012. Because the current president has failed to move an inch on immigration reform, distress among the community is soaring.

On one hand, immigration reform, one of the pillars of his agenda, is completely parked in Congress, where health care reform occupies all the activity and, moreover, the president’s energy reform — his next big political project — is beginning to be torpedoed by his own fellow Democrats before a serious debate has even begun.

But there are official data that demonstrate that the current U.S. administration is much tougher on immigrants than its predecessor. According to the Annual Report of the Department of Homeland Security, the number of illegal aliens returning back to their countries rose a spectacular 46 percent in the first year of Obama’s presidency.

According to that report, in the fiscal year of 2009, 387,790 U.S. foreigners were driven out, compared to 264,503 in 2008. The U.S. fiscal year begins Oct. 1, so these figures range from that date until September 30. For 8 months and 11 days of fiscal year 2009, Obama was the U.S. president.

Little hope…

And things will not change. The document explains that the authorities “exceeded their objective by 40,000 [deportees], and will strive to achieve a similar or higher level of removals for FY 2010.”*

Obama’s response, meanwhile, has been an enormous passivity. The president met yesterday with senators Chuck Schumer (Democrat) and Lindsey Graham (Republican) to try to lay the foundations of a “bipartisan” law that will resolve the jam in the U.S. immigration system.

The response from immigrant organizations, particularly those of Latinos, has not been so cautious. Last week, 350 members of organizations affiliated to the National Council of La Raza — the main Hispanic lobby in the U.S. — met in Congress with a number of legislators to express their displeasure with the current situation.

La Raza has also posted a tough anti-Obama video on the internet that starts with the legend: “Sometimes we all get so busy we forget the promises we’ve made.” March 21 is the scheduled date for “March for America,” a large demonstration in Washington in favor of reform.

Obama had 67 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2008, eight points more than John Kerry in 2004. That community flocked to the polls, despite the traditionally poor relations between Latinos and African Americans, and the immigrant vote was sufficient for Obama to win in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Florida.

Editor’s Note: The first half of this quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.