Message to President Obama

IN JUST a few hours, President Obama is going to take executive action on immigration.

Although most of the focus has been on immigrants from South of the Border, and a lot of the fear has been generated against Latino Americans, Asian immigrants - which has surpassed Latinos in the number of immigrants coming here - will be greatly impacted by the immigration reform measures that will be proposed by the President.

One of the most outspoken undocumented immigrants is Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who came out of the shadows in 2011. The video is from Balita, a Philippine/American broadcast agency.

"I think the president is saying inaction is not acceptable anymore and he's saying the status quo can't remain," said Vargas. "The House Republicans can supersede the president, what the president does, by actually passing immigration rearm, but if all they want to do is point fingers and say, 'Mr. President, you can't do it.' I think the American public. poll after poll, has shown the Amerian people want a solution."

"I think our job is to get it out of both of these parties and make it a civil right, human rights issue,"said Vargas, "that people what's happening and people know we must act on."

The President is taking this action because:

"Give me your tired, ..."

One - he is on perfectly legal grounds and there's lots of precedence. Every American president since 1957 - Republican and Democrat - have used executive action on immigration reform.

Two - The U.S. Senate passed an immigration reform measure last year and the ROP-dominated House of Representatives have been sitting on it all this time, preferring no action than to grant any legislative victory to President Obama. This measure included elements to double our border patrol, the construction of a 700-mile fence along the Mexico-U.S. border, increased use of drones and other measures to assuage the ultra-conservative House members. No dice, was their response, thus necessitating the President's use of executive action.

What he proposes won't be a cave-in to most immigrant reform advocates. In fact, it may downright piss off the more liberal forces. Nevertheless, something is better than nothing. Nothing is what the country will get in the next two years when the GOP take over both Houses.

In his last two year's in office, here's hoping that the President stops catering to the conservatives and return to values and strategies he cultivated as a community activist on the streets of Chicago. To hell with compromise.

Of course, as President, Obama won't do that ... but, here's wising ...

###