In speaking at his hometown in Chicago, President Obama pointed out the absurdity with which the Republicans were overreacting to his immigration reform action.
Reminding his audience about how welcoming immigrants has been a tradition, he said, “If you look at the history of immigration in this country, each successive wave there have been periods where the folks who were already here have said, ‘Well I don’t want those folks’. Even though the only people who have the right to say that are some Native Americans.”
The executive action that he passed will save almost 5 million immigrants but it is only a temporary solution and does not promise them citizenship.
This is a good reason why it’s not only Republicans who are mad at him but also immigration activists that have been struggling to stem the number of deportations that have separated families during Obama’s presidency.
During his speech, there were verbal protests made such as “There is no justice” or even “Stop deportations” and to which the President responded calmly saying that this executive action is the first step to doing so.
A number of other points that he mentioned involved emphasizing that being welcoming to immigrants would actually benefit not only the economy but everyone else’s fortunes over the coming years. This is because of studies that have revealed that they will bring about a $90 billion benefit to the economy.
Of course, the President did not hesitate to mention that he had pardoned the turkeys – Mac and Cheese – which he considered to be the most important action taken this month.