Obama's Plan for Executive Action

Obama’s Plan for Executive Action

President Obama recently gave a speech last week regarding a new executive action on immigration, where he provides his main arguments for his decision to use his executive powers towards the long-standing immigration problems. In his speech, Obama discusses how the United States’ tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has not only given us a great advantage over other nations but has kept our nation youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. Although these immigrants have shaped our nation as a whole, our immigration system is broken, which is the issue that Obama addresses in his speech. His main argument consists of three main parts, which he hopes to successfully achieve through executive action or the passing of a bill.

The first part is that there will be progress at the border by giving law enforcement additional resources so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings and speed the deportation of those who do cross over. The second part is that President Obama will give high-skilled immigrants, hard working mothers, and children a chance to stay and contribute to our economy, instead of having to risk losing all their hard work and belongings they have worked for. And thirdly, he hopes to take steps to deal responsibly with the vast amount of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country. With this third part, he states that although we are a nation of immigrants, we are a nation of laws. Therefore, he believes that since undocumented immigrants broke our immigration laws, they should be held responsible by paying taxes, paying

a fine, and going to the back of the line. But with regard to criminals, they should be law enforcements’ main focus, not hard working individuals and children who are simply here to achieve their dreams and succeed. The president states that these immigrants are like us, their American-born children or children, have spent much of their lives here, they have developed aspirations and patriotism just like the ones legal residents have and believes that they should not be deported and instead given a deal, which will only prevent deportation. His deal applies to immigrants who have been here for more than five years, children who are American citizens, or legal residents. These individuals are to register, pass a criminal background check, and pay a share of taxes, which will allow them avoid deportation and stay in this country temporarily. The president stresses that this does not grant citizenship, the right to stay here permanently, and is not applicable to anyone who comes to this country illegally now or in the future. Ultimately, President Obama’s reason for this executive action is to create a middle ground where people who have worked hard and contributed to America’s success can be able to come out of the shadows and get right with the law.

After reading President Obama’s speech, I strongly agree with Obama’s choice of using executive action. My main reason for agreeing with President Obama is that he has made an effort to create a comprehensive fix with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents but the vote to pass a bipartisan bill was not allowed and thrown out. Since his bill is being thrown out, he has a right to use his executive power to address an important issue that has affected this nation greatly for more than 200 years. President Obama states that these immigrants are apart of our nation, and they are. These individuals have been the foundation of our nation and economy; they have worked in the lowest paying jobs for our nation and deserve to keep what they have gained instead of constantly having to worry if they will be deported. Nevertheless, these illegal immigrants have broken our laws and they deserve a punishment but one that does not require their deportation and loss of a life they have worked so hard for. Instead, we should allow them to take responsibility for their actions and begin by allowing them to make amends by paying a fine and their taxes. Obama’s speech to me reminded me that these immigrants are like us, they have the same dreams and aspirations and the same parents who want a better future for their children. Therefore, they deserve the same right that legal residents of this nation have; they deserve to share the commitment that Americans have, which is knowing that we are all created equal and we all have the chance to make the best of our lives that we can. With that statement, I come to the realization that there are no negative aspects of Obama’s arguments, he considers many things in his speech, including how the middle class will take a hit more than they already have this past decade and has stated that his steps to fix immigration would not be doing this; instead, we will see a lift in our economy and be able to shrink our deficits. Ultimately, I believe that Obama wrote and delivered a well-written speech. He provides his reasons for using executive action, explains how his actions would work and affect Americans and illegal immigrants, and creates a middle ground approach that will allow millions of hardworking individuals to come out of the shadows and get right with the law.