Advocates Praise Obama's Immigration Speech, Urge Action

By Marcelo Ballve, New America Media
Posted on July 2, 2010, Printed on July 3, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/147418/

Editor's note: Below, Marcelo Ballvé reports that immigrants' rights activists received Barack Obama's immigration address warmly. You can also read David Bacon's piece about another group of activists who are sharply critical of the approach Obama endorsed here. Finally, you can read a complete transcript of Obama's remarks here.

President Obama's speech may be too little, too late on immigration. But few have said it better.

Obama's remarks at American University ahead of the July 4 holiday--his first major policy speech devoted solely to this issue--tried to reframe a debate that has grown more contentious than ever with the advent of Arizona's new legislative crackdown on illegal immigration, which will go into effect later this month.

The president compared the immigration system to the health care and financial messes. He said the immigration laws are broken and in need of a major overhaul.