[Occupymendocino] Fwd: Response to Your Message

[John Fremont]

It's funny. I wrote Obama more than a month ago, the day I was asked to 
moderate a panel on immigration for our annual celebration of Martin 
Luther King, Jr. I asked the president what Dr. King would think of his 
immigration policies. The White House responded today. I wish I could 
have asked the panelists for their reaction. I have mixed feelings about 
the response, reproduced below.

-------- Original Message --------

	
The White House, Washington
	

Thank you for writing.  I have heard from many Americans who are 
concerned about immigration, and I appreciate your perspective.

Americans are frustrated with our Nation's broken immigration system, 
and I share that frustration.  We need an immigration system that is 
fair and helps grow the middle class by ensuring everyone plays by the 
same rules.  That is why I have proposed a commonsense plan that would 
continue to strengthen our borders; crack down on employers who 
knowingly hire undocumented workers; create a path to earned citizenship 
for immigrants here illegally that requires them to pay taxes, learn 
English, and pay a fine; and streamline the legal immigration system so 
America can continue to be a magnet for the best and the brightest from 
around the world.  That is how we can reaffirm our heritage as both a 
Nation of immigrants and a Nation of laws.

To make these fixes, we need Congress to act---and I remain deeply 
committed to working in a bipartisan way to enact commonsense 
immigration reform.  But until they take action, my Administration will 
continue to do everything we can to strengthen our borders and enforce 
the law.

Since I took office, we have invested an unprecedented amount of 
resources, technology, and manpower to secure our borders.  Our efforts 
are producing real results.  Today, our Southern border is more secure 
than ever, with more law enforcement personnel than at any time in 
American history---and there are fewer illegal crossings now than at any 
time in the past 40 years.  Crime rates along the border are down, and 
we have seized more illegal guns, cash, and drugs than in years past. 
  In addition to doing what is necessary to secure our borders, my 
Administration is implementing a smart, effective immigration 
enforcement policy that includes taking action against employers who 
knowingly exploit people and break the law.

Smarter enforcement also includes focusing our resources on 
high-priority individuals who threaten our national security or pose a 
threat to the safety of American communities, and not on young people 
who were brought to this country as children through no fault of their 
own.  On June 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security announced it 
would allow eligible young people who do not present a risk to our 
national security or public safety to apply for temporary relief from 
deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.  This is not a 
path to citizenship, and it is not a permanent fix---only Congress can 
provide that.  It is a temporary measure to allow us to focus our 
resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, 
driven, and patriotic young people who are American in every way but on 
paper.

My Administration has also worked to strengthen, streamline, and update 
our legal immigration system through administrative reforms---making it 
easier for employers, immigrants, and families to navigate the system. 
  Through the innovative "Entrepreneurs in Residence" initiative, we are 
gaining insight into business realities and streamlining existing 
pathways for highly skilled, foreign-born entrepreneurs to create 
businesses and jobs in our country.  In 2012, I issued an Executive 
Order to make it easier and safer for international travelers to visit 
America, and to create a national strategy to better reap the economic 
benefits of travel and tourism.  We have worked to support family unity 
by providing a provisional waiver for certain American families to 
reduce the length of time United States citizens are separated from 
their loved ones during the immigrant visa application process.  We have 
also reduced barriers to citizenship by creating tools to help 
applicants through the naturalization process.

By creating a 21st-century immigration system that is true to our 
principles, our Nation will remain a land of opportunity, prosperity, 
and freedom for all.  To learn more about my Administration's plan for 
immigration reform, please visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/Immigration 
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration?utm_source=Immigration&utm_medium=ImmigrationMain&utm_campaign=OPC>. 
  For additional information and resources on current immigration and 
enforcement efforts, I encourage you to visit www.DHS.gov 
<http://www.DHS.gov> or call 1-800-375-5283.

Thank you, again, for writing.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama


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