{"id":6383,"date":"2014-04-16T14:29:02","date_gmt":"2014-04-16T18:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=6383"},"modified":"2018-12-28T15:05:15","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T20:05:15","slug":"this-date-in-obamas-administrative-amnesty-april-16-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2014\/04\/16\/this-date-in-obamas-administrative-amnesty-april-16-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"This Date in Obama\u2019s Administrative Amnesty: April 16, 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ThisPresident Barack Obama declared that amnesty was a \u201cshared interest<\/a>\u201d of the United States and Mexico when he met with former Mexican president Felipe Calderon on April 16, 2009.\u00a0 Obama made his intentions publicly known in Mexico on that date, but five years later the objective has not become a reality.\u00a0 This angered the current Mexican president, Enrique Pena Nieto, who said this past February that he was \u201cindignant<\/a>\u201d that the United States would enforce our country\u2019s immigration laws at all.\u00a0 Nieto also criticized U.S. lawmakers for their \u201clack of conscience<\/a>\u201d in not passing amnesty legislation.<\/p>\n

President Nieto, it\u2019s the American people who should be indignant that our borders are not secured and that illegal aliens are openly flouting the law.\u00a0 Having and enforcing immigration law is indicative of a country\u2019s respect for law, protection of public safety, and defense of national security interests.\u00a0 The United States should remain strong internationally, and fair and uniform immigration enforcement helps to develop internal strength.\u00a0 Contrary to Nieto\u2019s criticism, opponents of amnesty are acting with their consciences, caring for the needs of American workers who are forced to compete with illegal aliens for jobs.<\/p>\n

Instead of defending U.S. immigration policies against President Nieto\u2019s criticism, President Obama instead backed down.\u00a0 Obama only further pandered to illegal aliens when he publicly pledged to have his Homeland Security Department review U.S. immigration law in the hopes of instituting a more \u201chumane<\/a>\u201d deportation policy.<\/p>\n

President Obama, it\u2019s not inhumane to remove those who are illegally in the United States.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually irrational to leave hundreds of miles of the Southern border fenceless and without sufficiently funded and equipped law enforcement personnel.\u00a0 One can only hope that the review the Department of Homeland Security undertakes at the president\u2019s request will uncover what is already in the law, such as for instance, voluntary departure (INA \u00a7240B).\u00a0 Voluntary departure is a provision in federal law that allows illegal aliens 60 to 90 days to take care of their affairs and arrange their own dignified departures together with their family members. That\u2019s very humane, Mr. President.<\/p>\n

The damage done by the U.S. president pledging support for amnesty legislation in Mexico City five years ago can be seen today. Failure to adequately defend U.S. interests on immigration policy has negative implications internationally.\u00a0 If our own president does not respect U.S. law, how can we expect the Mexican president to?