To Believe in Obama Again

Barack Obama, president of the United States, came into office in 2008 for many reasons. He had enormous appeal with the young, and voters wanted to punish Republicans for the poor economy. But he was also elected because Latinos gave him their trust. Now, three years later, the disenchantment of this constituency is evident and reflected in the polls. Some of Obama’s actions—and the absence of others—account for this drop.

Mexico and its countrymen across the border, as well as a good part of the rest of the world, had placed high hopes in the first non-white president of the northern power. It was hoped that as a son of a Kenyan, a man of simple origins and “progressive” ideals—by U.S. standards— he would innovate and confront with new enthusiasm the old problems of the neighboring nation.

As a presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, Barack Obama proposed immigration reform his first year in office. President Calderón was the first to be received by the then president-elect. Up to that point, everything seemed to be going well.

Still, it is difficult to satisfy two segments of society with conflicting visions, and the president chose to ingratiate himself with those rejecting any attempt at the integration of Latinos. The leader broke his promises of immigration reform while he seconded conservative rhetoric whose priority was to stop at all costs the entry of more Mexicans into the country. The only thing to distinguish the Obama administration from its predecessors in immigration matters is a statistic—the record of deportations: 392,863 in 2010.

Now, with the possibility of re-election next year, Obama has turned anew to the Latinos and is courting them for their votes. Time will tell if such feats as his legal opposition to [Arizona’s] SB1070 bill and his defense of the Dream Act, an attempt to give children of the undocumented an opportunity to study in American universities, will be sufficient.

President Calderón’s remarks made sense when, before the 2008 election, he suggested that Republican John McCain was a good bet for Latinos. The senator was familiar with bilateral problems: He came from Arizona, a border state, visited Mexico as a candidate, and had on his résumé a comprehensive immigration reform proposed in 2006.

In all, perhaps it is not too late for Obama. He should support Latinos in what remains of his term not just with speeches and initiatives that won’t pass through Congress, but with direct actions by his administration.