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<div class="moz-forward-container">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.<br>
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-------- Original Message --------<br>
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<p>Thank you for writing. I have heard
from many Americans who are concerned
about immigration, and I appreciate your
perspective.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration?utm_source=Immigration&utm_medium=ImmigrationMain&utm_campaign=OPC">www.WhiteHouse.gov/Immigration</a>.
For additional information and
resources on current immigration and
enforcement efforts, I encourage you to
visit <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.DHS.gov">www.DHS.gov</a>
or call 1-800-375-5283.</p>
<p>Thank you, again, for writing.</p>
<p style="text-indent: 0px;" align="left">Sincerely,</p>
<p style="text-indent: 0px;" align="left">Barack
Obama</p>
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