Obama Criticizes Republican Position on Immigration
President visits El Paso border crossing, looks to cast GOP as obstacle in way of reform
President Barack Obama speaks on immigration at the Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso, Tex., on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. (Photo credit: Jewel Samad / AFP — Getty Images
May 11, 2011
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in search of Hispanic votes and a long-shot immigration overhaul, stood at the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday for the first time since winning the White House and declared it more secure than ever.
Obama mocked Republican lawmakers for blocking immigration [reform] and insisting that border security should be dealt with first. …
Stymied by both chambers of Congress, the president ditched lawmakers in favor of voters who might pressure them, making an appeal to the public on a hot and dusty day far outside Washington. He told a friendly El Paso, Texas, crowd that it’s up to them to tell Congress to pass legislation providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants. …
Countering Republican calls to focus on border security before moving to a comprehensive overhaul, Obama boasted of increasing border patrol agents, nearing completion of a border fence, and screening more cargo, among other steps. …
Obama … said that the middle class would benefit from bringing illegal immigrants out of an underground economy and drawing on the abilities of [illegal] immigrants educated in American universities. Obama also noted that it’s not just Latinos who want an immigration remake, but also police chiefs, business owners, educators and others. …
The trip also had a more overtly political component.
Hispanic voters are critical to the president’s re-election. Latinos accounted for more than 7 percent of voters in the 2008 presidential election, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, and their numbers are greater in certain swing states like Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida. …
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5/18/11 Update
X-ray image showing U.S.-bound illegal migrants crammed in trailer truck. (Photo credit: Government of Chiapas via EPA)
X-rays reveal 513 U.S.-bound migrants crammed in trucks (AP, May 18, 2011) — Police in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state found 513 migrants on Tuesday inside two trailer trucks bound for the United States, and said they had been transported in dangerously crowded conditions. … The immigration institute said in a statement that 410 of the migrants were from Guatemala, 47 from El Salvador, 32 from Ecuador, 12 from India, six from Nepal, three from China and one each from Japan, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. …Â Full story
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10/28/11 Update
Video
Born in the USA: Foreign women travel to America to give birth (Rock Center with Brian Williams, Oct. 27, 2011) — Rock Center’s Kate Snow investigates a new industry: women paying big bucks to come from China to America in order to give birth and go home with U.S. citizenship. (02:11)
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Related reports on this site
Enforcing Immigration Law (Dec. 26, 2010)
House Democrats OK Illegal Amnesty (Dec. 9, 2010)
Immigration: Government vs. The People (July 28, 2010)
Immigration Enforcement Surge (June 25, 2010)
Arizona Tough on Illegal Immigration (April 23, 2010)
Statement on Illegal Immigration (July 15, 2008)
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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — May 11, 2010
One year ago today, I provided my weekly summary of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Aghanistan wars, compiled from U.S. Department of Defense News Releases.
Army Capt. Kyle A. Comfort, 27, Jacksonville, Ala., died May 8, 2010 in Now Zad, Helmand province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was a fire support officer in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga. An Army news release said the combat operation in which Capt. Comfort was taking part uncovered a large IED factory.
He was married in October 2005 and graduated from Jacksonville State University in 2006 with a degree in criminal justice. He served as a fire support officer and platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, and the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, both with the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.
“Kyle’s main purpose in life was to make a difference,†said his wife, Brooke Clopton Comfort, 28, of Jacksonville, “and he really felt like we were making a difference over there.â€
Survivors include Capt. Comfort’s 6-month-old daughter, Kinleigh Ann. His father, the late Kenneth A. Comfort, retired from the Army as first sergeant.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — May 11, 2009
Cheney Squarely Behind Limbaugh
Two years ago today, on May 11, 2009, I reported that former vice president Dick Cheney made it clear he would rather follow incendiary broadcaster Rush Limbaugh than former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Colin Powell into political battle over the future of the Republican Party.
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August 26th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
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