On Thursday evening, President Obama addressed the nation in a speech describing his plan to reform immigration in the United States.
There are currently 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and most of them are working in hospitality, retail, and construction. The President plans to protect up to 5 million undocumented workers from deportation by issuing temporary residence to these individuals.
“My fellow Americans, tonight, I'd like to talk with you about immigration,” began Mr. Obama.
The move by Obama has rattled Republicans and has some Democrats doubting the security of the action. Immigration has been an important issue in the United States, and the economic impact is a key reason for its prevalence. Though many Americans have differing opinions on how to handle the immigration, President Obama claims that regardless of opinion, immigration is in need of change.
“Today, our immigration system is broken, and everybody knows it,” said President Obama. “Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others flout the rules. Business owners who offer their workers good wages and benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less. All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America. And undocumented immigrants who desperately want to embrace those responsibilities see little option but to remain in the shadows, or risk their families being torn apart,” he said.
The President continued to describe the failure of Congress to properly address these issues, and described his three points to fix this immigration problem. These points were to increase border patrol, allow easier methods for current high-skilled workers and professionals to stay and work, and to take responsibility for the millions of undocumented workers already in the U.S. He then began to emphasize the third point.
Mr. Obama stressed the efficiency of the U.S. to deport dangerous criminals, which has gone up 80 percent during his presidency. He then explained that the remaining immigrants are still in the millions, and that it is unrealistic to deport all of them because of the magnitude of that population.
“Most of these immigrants have been here a long time. They work hard, often in tough, low-paying jobs. They support their families. They worship at our churches. Many of their kids are American-born or spent most of their lives here, and their hopes, dreams, and patriotism are just like ours,” said Mr. Obama.
He then introduced his plan to responsibly handle the current immigrant population.
“If you've been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you're willing to pay your fair share of taxes -- you'll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily, without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law.”
Obama then defended his position and provided examples of hard working immigrants who are in the United States to seek opportunity and provide for their families. He ended with an allusion to the Bible, and brought up the immigrant history of the United States.
“Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger -- we were strangers once, too.”
