After promising more “executive action” by the end of September 2014, President Obama caved in to political pressure, and said he would delay taking any further “executive action” until after the November 2014 midterm elections. Latino and other immigrant groups are furious. They feel betrayed that their votes and support are being taken for granted.
These groups feel that Democrats keep promising to push for immigration reform to secure Latino and other pro-immigrant votes, but after an election is over, no reform is implemented.
I recall that when Obama first ran for president in 2008, he campaigned for comprehensive immigration reform. Many people voted for him, believing that once elected, he would do something for immigrant groups. However, little progress was made in terms of comprehensive immigration reform, and people who voted for Obama were disappointed. After that election, it was John McCain (the Republican candidate) who offered a plan for comprehensive immigration reform. It turned out that McCain was the more pro-immigration candidate.
In fact, Obama was given the moniker of “Deporter in Chief,” because during his administration, more people have been deported than at any other time. Even while George Bush (a Republican) was president, not as many people were deported. It is also worth noting that the last “amnesty” was during a Republican Administration, and some of the harshest immigration laws were enacted during Clinton’s presidency.
When Obama ran for re-election in 2012, he again made promises of proposing comprehensive immigration reform. Once elected (except perhaps for DACA, some prosecutorial discretion, and provisional waivers), nothing happened in terms of immigration reform.
Once again, immigrant groups feel like kalesa horses, where the promise of comprehensive immigration reform is dangled in front of them, like a carrot, to secure their votes, and then, after the election, they are treated like political pawns, and are ignored.
If you think about it, except for immigration, many immigrant groups share Republican values, in that they are deeply religious, hard-working, and family oriented – issues Republicans keep pushing and touting. It is only on immigration that Republicans lose the Latino and other pro-immigrant groups.
Some Latino and immigrant groups are considering voting for Republicans during the midterm elections to teach Democrats a lesson that they should not be ignored or taken for granted, by voting Democrats out of office. Perhaps by the 2016 presidential elections, these pro-immigrant groups will be taken more seriously by Democrats, who would finally feel compelled to deliver on their promises, versus making promises that are not kept.
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