Cristina Jimenez

Obama promotes Bush’s Immigration Policies

On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama promised a new approach on immigration policy. Latinos and new immigrant voters believed him and handed him victory in key battleground states like Florida, Nevada, and Colorado. But the Obama administration has failed to bring change to the immigration debate. Instead, President Obama is promoting the same flawed enforcement- only policies from the Bush administration.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was expanding the 287(g) program, which empowers local police to enforce federal immigration laws. This program is deeply flawed. Local police chiefs and sheriffs claim the program is ineffective because the costs outweigh its benefits. In addition, the administration decided to renew E-Verify, the Bush mandated system that federal contractors are required to use to verify the immigration status of workers. E-Verify is not a reliable verification system--it's unable to accurately identify U.S citizen and documented workers.

Obama's enforcement only approach is a continuation of the ideas that were promoted by conservatives during the Bush years. Leading the debate with flawed conservative ideas takes us further away from real and practical immigration solutions.

Cristina Jimenez: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 4:20 PM, Jul 14, 2009 in Immigration
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