The timing and content of President Obama's July 1, 2010 immigration reform speech were both puzzling. His political purpose in delivering, at this time, his first presidential speech on immigration is even murkier.
The President's speech was beautifully crafted, of course, and was characteristically replete with historical background, context, homage to the late Ted Kennedy, and exquisite explanation as to why immigration reform is necessary for the United States. Any top-notch tenured professor would be proud to lay claim to Obama's words which, by no coincidence, were delivered at an urban-set university.
In his remarks, President Obama laid out what he termed "the essential elements of comprehensive immigration reform," which are:
- Secure U.S. borders, particularly the southwest border where "we have more boots on the ground... than at any time in our history."
- "Businesses must be held accountable if they break the law by deliberately hiring and exploiting undocumented workers."
- "Demand responsibility from people living here illegally."
- "We should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents by denying them the chance to stay here and earn an education."
Mr. Obama indicated that for an undocumented immigrant to qualify to "get in line and earn their citizenship," they must meet certain conditions and take certain actions.
All well and good ideas, on the whole. Certainly mainstream ideas, containing nothing new, clever, or uniquely innovative or enlightening, particularly to anyone who remembers the searing national debate in 2007 over immigration, courageously led jointly by Ted Kennedy and John McCain.
Here's what so puzzling about the President's much-heralded speech:
First, he said nothing new, nothing he and his cabinet haven't expressed, and in far stronger terms, many times before, including:
- On November 14, 2009 when Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano outlined the Obama administration's "Three-legged Stool" approach to immigration reform
- On the White House website, where President Obama describes his immigration policy "Guiding Principles"
- On February 25, 2009 when Secretary Napolitano testified at length to Congress about border security, immigration and employment identification.
- Candidate Obama campaign website included a myriad of immigration reform promises.
- On June 6, 2007, Sen. Obama delivered a passionate speech about the embattled Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 in which he called for justice and democratic values in immigration reform legislation.
Second, why now, in July, four months before mid-term elections, with absolutely no hope of passing any immigration reform legislation by then, and only the faintest of hope of passing such legislation during the "lame duck" Congressional session between the November election and the January swearing-in of the 112th Congress... which will surely be more Republican, less Democratic, than the present 111th Congress.
The President declared "I'm ready to move forward," as are the "the majority of Democrats," "a growing coalition of labor unions and business groups, immigrant advocates and community organizations, law enforcement, local government" and "leaders from America's religious communities" ready to cobble together an immigration reform package...
But the President knows he hasn't a ghost of a chance to attract enough votes to pass meaningful immigration reform before... well, likely before the 113th Congress, which will convene in 2013.
Obama realizes that health care reform was a proverbial picnic-in-the-park compared to the tough political slog that will be any immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for eleven million undocumented immigrants.
The President's speech was puzzling because it obviously was not crafted or timed to propose new ideas or to push for imminently pending new legislation. The New York Times exhorted optimistically after the speech:
"Mr. Obama's call to action applies not just to Congress but to himself as well... Mr. Obama has presidential powers, and he should use them... let's hope his administration also is ready to show the determination to protect the resented newcomers whose rights and dignity he so powerfully defended on Thursday."
President Obama's political purposes for delivering an immigration liberalization speech four months before mid-term elections are murky... unless one views the speech as a completely political exercise, designed and timed only to appease the crucial Latino voting community.
If, indeed, the entire reason for President Obama's July 1, 2010 Immigration Plan Speech was to cajole Latino voters into continuing to support Democrats over Republicans despite the White House and Democratic-led Congress doing absolutely nothing about immigration for two years... well, then the speech was too soft. Too mediocre. Too laden with pretty prose. And far too lacking in passion and steely conviction.
"Too soft. Too mediocre. Too laden with pretty prose. Too lacking in passion and steely conviction." A near-perfect description of the key problems of President Obama's first two years in office.
Liberals should pray long and hard that Latino voters, who were the driving difference in electing Mr. Obama to office in 2008, are swayed again in 2010 by the president's sympathetic prose. Because all they're going on is faith, not action. And certainly not on political specifics to ensure future immigration reform legislation.
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