by Christian Ramírez
No one believes President Obama with regard to immigration reform any more, or at least no one pays him any heed. In his third State of the Union speech, he mentioned immigration only once, when he tied the subject of education to undocumented students. In measured tones, for the umpteenth time the President exhorted Democrats and Republicans “to work … to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows.”
This was the same speech he used in his 2008 campaign; the same as a year ago, when his party had an absolute majority in Congress and resoundingly failed to approve reforms of the immigration laws. In his speech, the President concluded his comments on immigration by stating, “I know that debate will be difficult. I know it will take time.”
Our communities are very well aware that Immigration politics are much more than a difficult debate.
On the morning of January 20, as the President was probably working on the final details of his speech, in the small town of Ellensburg, Washington, Obama’s governmental repression again left a community of immigrants devastated. Uniformed FBI and ICE agents violently broke into the humble homes of several immigrant families. With weapons in their hands, the agents pointed at the residents, including several children, and arrested at least 30 people. Most of them were women who worked as housekeepers in area hotels.
This violent operation in Washington state angered the religious community there. Among those arrested was Reverend Gilberto Barrientos, pastor of the Mount Sinai Pentecostal Church, along with his wife. The pastor, who has led the Ellensburg Pentecostal Church for more than ten years, faces charges for not complying with a deportation order. The couple’s two children are U.S. citizens and are living with acquaintances while their parents are detained. One day after the repression in Ellensburg, ICE officials published the results of another violent operation against the immigrant population, this time in Michigan. ICE, as it always does, insisted that the operation was focused on “finding criminals.” The four-day roundup, carried out in seven of that state’s counties, resulted in the arrest of 77 people, most of whom had no criminal records.
The President’s attitude is too laid back. On the one hand he strongly denounces the xenophobic stances of state governments such as Arizona’s and crazy Republican proposals to carry out immigration reform. On the other hand, he fuels the fire of repression against our population, then stands in front of the teleprompters to say now is the time to work together toward immigration reform. Meanwhile, in towns like Ellensburg, Washington, or Kalamazoo, Michigan, immigrant communities are still recovering from the terror of immigration raids and of families being divided. Obama’s actions speak louder than words because his words have long been lost to the wind. Hispanic Link.
(Christian Ramírez is national coordinator, human migration and mobility, for the American Friends Service Committee. Email: cramirez@afsc.org)
