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Tuesday May 10, 2011- President Barack Obama gave a speech on immigration reform in El Paso, Texas, just feet from the Mexican border. The speech was the fourth immigration-related event in the past month, a fact that highlights the importance he is placing on capturing the Latino vote in his 2012 re-election campaign.
Obama´s speech on immigration reform
Obama stressed that, as part of large scale reform, Washington has to “secure the borders and enforce the law.” Business owners, he said, need to be punished for exploiting undocumented workers. At the same time, people who have entered the country illegally have to admit they broke the law, pay taxes and a fine, learn English and be willing to undergo background checks before starting the legalization process, an idea that makes proponents of tighter immigration standards very uncomfortable.
The speech had many positive notes, but most accounts agree that it lacked any real substance. “We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants—a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America’s precepts,” he said, and stressed the absurdity of educating immigrants only to deport them because the laws make it impossible to become a citizen. There were many heartwarming stories in this thinly veiled political move, but very little to hold on to. Capturing the highly sought after ‘Latino vote’ will take more than a well worded speech, it will need real action.
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