The Republican National Committee’s latest web ad seems to be a direct response to President Obama’s controversial and unprecedented executive order to place a two year moratorium on the deportation of some 800,000 illegal immigrants.
On Hannity Tuesday night, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) suggested that the president’s fiat purposefully ignored the Constitution and Congress for the sole purpose of currying favor with Hispanic Americans. And frankly, it’s difficult to disagree with his assessment. The One is clearly struggling to retain the support of this crucially important voting bloc, most notably because (a) the Hispanic unemployment rate is three points higher than the national average and (b) 2.3 million Latinos have slipped into poverty. Remember, too, candidate Obama actually pledged to place comprehensive immigration reform at the top of his legislative agenda if elected president; instead, he squandered his political capital in 2010 when he signed a deeply unpopular and possibly unconstitutional health care bill into law. How’s that working out for you, Mr. President? Sure, the White House can now invoke executive privilege to create the illusion they’re “solving” the nation’s immigration problems, or whatever. But did the president -- when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress -- deliver on his promise to reform the nation’s broken immigration system? Nope. I’ll leave you with this gut-wrenching story, courtesy of The Right Scoop, which shows just how fundamentally flawed Team O’s executive order really is.
Chie Yee Yang, 19, visited his deportation officer at the Department of Homeland Security in Sacramento Tuesday morning and was told he and his brother Kawah Yee Yang, 16, would not be deported for at least two years."He told us, 'You've heard about the new policy, we can't really touch you,' " said a relieved Chie, who was a valedictorian of the first graduating class at Sacramento City Unified School District's School of Engineering and Sciences. He and his brother can now apply for two-year work permits from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
But the news was bittersweet. The boys' parents, Yanshan Yu and Sumei Yang, are still under deportation orders to return to either their native China or Colombia, where they lived for 18 years and had their sons.
"I'm happy my sons can stay and complete their education, but sad we're still going to be separated," said Yu, 51, clutching a leather portfolio containing his immigration papers. "I'm worried about what's going to happen to us and our sons – they need parental guidance. What if they get into some trouble?"
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This is precisely why we need comprehensive reforms -- not short term fixes -- to our illegal immigration woes. And while the president’s executive order will no doubt benefit a small percentage of undocumented youths, it may very well complicate the process of finding more permanent solutions in the future.
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