Amnesty, American Style

The deportation of 800,000 illegal immigrants from the U.S. has been suspended.

Amid a presidential campaign that is gaining momentum, the current White House occupant Barack Obama has taken an unprecedented step to essentially grant amnesty to a significant portion of illegal immigrants in the U.S.

Obama’s decision to temporarily suspend the deportation of a number of categories of illegal immigrants — a decision made using the president’s constitutional right to bypass Congress — affects approximately 800,000 people. For the most part, the decision concerns persons under 30 years of age, who are of Latin American heritage, entered the States when they were younger than 16, continuously lived in the country for no fewer than the past five years, have not been convicted of a crime, and also graduated from an American high school or served Uncle Sam in the military.

“If there is a young person here who has grown up here and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work, that’s the right thing to do. … We have always drawn strength from being a nation of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws, and that’s going to continue. And my hope is that Congress recognizes that and gets behind this effort,” stated Barack Obama.

Obama had hardly announced his decision before he was barraged with criticism. The press conference at the White House turned into scandal when a reporter from a conservative publication interrupted the president as he was delivering his statements. The reporter shouted, “Why do you favor foreign workers over Americans?” After a brief verbal altercation with the journalist, Obama left the press conference without answering the question.

As expected, Republicans on Capitol Hill were outraged by Obama’s unilateral action, in which they clearly perceived electoral calculation. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain has already stated that Obama’s recent decision was directly related to the elections and was an attempt to distract voters’ attention from bad news, obviously hinting at disappointing job numbers and reports on the economy.

A confidential White House source confirmed to Rossiyskaya Gazeta that “during the presidential campaign, Obama’s administration, and that of its main opponent Mitt Romney, are trying to derive maximal benefit from the evolving demographic situation in the country,” and that this decision was dictated by the “desire to get November votes from the growing Spanish-speaking diaspora.” It is noteworthy that in 2008 over 60 percent of Latinos voted for Obama. Whatever the case, the president’s decision to play the immigration card in the campaign is directly related to the nation’s current preferences. According to the latest Gallup poll, 66 percent of Americans relate to immigration positively, while only 29 percent consider it a negative.

Opinion

Vyacheslav Postavnin, President of “Migration 21st Century” Foundation:

“I think that Russia should take a closer look at the U.S. experience, even if Obama’s decision faces criticism. The migration situation in our country is developing in a similar way. Neither Russia nor the U.S. can be called a nation of just one nationality. The borders between Mexico and the U.S., and Russia and Ukraine, lead the world in intensity of crossings, and the number of illegal migrants is similar in our countries. Ultimately, is it wrong to allow young, law-abiding people who have received an education and are prepared to work honestly and serve in the military to stay in the country? Is it really better to prevent them from breaking away from “illegal status,” which pushes them towards a path of crime?

Yet, we should first learn from the U.S. experience in the fight against illegal immigration. Every year around one million illegal immigrants are deported from the U.S. Do you know how many we deport? Thirty thousand. Of course, even a million deportations doesn’t stop the inflow of migrants. But, when the fight against illegal immigration is up and running, there isn’t anything wrong with declaring amnesty from time to time. It allows one to separate the wheat from the chaff—to give those who are deserving the chance to become a citizen.”