Another Speech

In President Barack Obama’s address on the state of the nation, two issues are of particular interest to us. The first is his announcement of a tour of three Latin American countries: “This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador to forge new alliances across the Americas.” This would be his first visit to South America and his third visit to Latin America since 2009, when he went to Mexico and also to Trinidad and Tobago to participate in the Summit of the Americas. His choice of countries to visit is interesting; in this region, he picked El Salvador. Surely, the other neighboring leaders will be called there, at a mini-summit of Central America. We will see if Ortega makes it to the meeting, as surely the president of Honduras will attend, and the Nicaraguan refuses to go where the Honduran goes.

The other issue relates to immigration reform. In a speech that was vague, providing no clear details, focusing on how Americans must commit “to win the future,” he again insisted on immigration reform and the so-called Dream Act, aimed at the legalization of many of young people who wish to pursue college or enlist in the military. He said that the deportation of young students, who are valuable to the country, is foolish and asked that America “stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation.” As for immigration reform, which was promised to Hispanics during his campaign and is the reason why he won the favor of the Hispanic minority, he has not been able to attain one iota of an agreement. He called again for a bill that secures borders and resolves the current situation of illegal immigrants in a more humane way. He said that he was “prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws, and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows.”

Well, the issue of immigration reform has been politicized, linked to election campaigns, one way or another, to the extent that undocumented Hispanics in the United States are victims of more hostility every day. Several states have introduced legislation or are in the process of criminalizing their stay, making them the focus of racial discrimination. The immigration problem — especially now that drug violence has intensified in the border areas with Mexico — was treated as a political issue in the last legislative election campaign. One side demonizes immigrants, while the other seeks to placate Hispanic voters. Only bipartisan agreements between Democrats and Republicans can make viable the possibility of immigration reform and a final solution for the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Hispanics in the United States. Hopefully, this presidential message will result in the call for an agreement between the two parties. Let it not be a new frustration for Hispanics, who for a long time have lived and worked in anxiety, eagerly awaiting an end to the game of interests that has prevented a definitive solution to their agony.