Open Letter #78 To President Obama – Immigration Reform Now!

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 16, 2014: Dear Mr. President,

You should send a congratulatory note to U.S. Chamber of Commerce Chamber president Tom Donohue. In fact, so should all Democrats.

Donohue is right on the money. His advice to the Republican Party on Monday is something they should pay attention to NOW.

“If the Republicans don’t do it (immigration reform) they shouldn’t bother to run a candidate in 2016. I mean, think about that. Think about who the voters are,” Donohue said Monday.

It’s a wake-up call to Party members who don’t get the bigger picture, including House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). I have said it consistently on WLIB’s ‘GBE Mindflight’ for weeks now. If the GOP fails to pass immigration reform it should give up on its dream of ever winning back the White House.

Still instead of listening to Donohue, on Monday Boehner put the blame on you; saying your appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and delays to the Affordable Care Act’s implementation breached trust with House Republicans.

“We’re at a point where my colleagues don’t trust that the president will implement the law the way we would see it passed. So I put the ball back in the president’s court. He’s going to have to do something to demonstrate his trustworthiness,” Boehner was quoted as saying.

Of course it is complete nonsense. But since he has put the ball back in the your court, I think you should show the speaker you’re willing to take it and run down to the touch-down zone.

Delivering an unequivocally clear message that all children have a right to enroll in public schools regardless of their citizenship or immigration status is a great first start.

Additionally changing the policies at the U.S. Citizen & Immigration Services to allow spouses of certain H-1B visa holders to work in the U.S. will be good for this country and for thousands who will be working in the U.S. tech sector under the program.

Now many are looking forward to the Department of Homeland Security’s expected memo in the next month outlining new policies aimed at slowing deportations of undocumented immigrants.

We need this to happen by Congressman’s Luis Guiterrez’s deadline of July. The GOP has made it clear they will do nothing under your administration. Now it’s time for your administration to use its executive power and act on behalf of the 11 plus million but mostly for the future of the Democratic Party.

Your decision this summer will impact generations to come. Mr. President, you must act now! Stop deportations now and make deferred departure a reality for the undocumented who continue to live in fear with no hope.

Respectfully,

Felicia Persaud.

The writer is CMO of Hard Beat Communications, which owns the brands News Americas Now, CaribPR Wire and Invest Caribbean Now.