Open Letter #75 To President Obama – Immigration Reform Now!

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) “theatrically mocked” his Republican colleagues Thursday, April 24, for being too afraid to take on the issue of immigration, according to an Ohio newspaper.

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 25, 2014: Dear Mr. President,

The best thing about the new age of journalism is that it allows for readers’ immediate reaction to stories on the news media website. I love reading these message boards, especially the responses on immigration stories, as it gives a very real insight into the way Americans feel despite the lack of Congressional action.

Take for instance ‘Big-George 22’s’ reaction to a Washington Post story titled: ‘Diaz-Balart: If we don’t move on immigration, Obama will go it alone.’

“The GOP will do nothing because that’s safer with their base but (it) is going to kill them AGAIN in the long term…,” said this reader.

‘Big-George’ is absolutely right. The GOP’s inaction coupled with John Boehner’s fear and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor whining about your renewed call for action on comprehensive immigration reform this week will tank the party further.

In fact, I predict the GOP’s 2016 loss of the White House will be on a much larger scale if they do nothing on immigration reform now, than it was in 2012. Of course they are guaranteed a much bigger loss if the likes of Rand Paul or Ted Cruz make it to the general election over moderates like say, Jeb Bush. Not that Jeb has thrown his hat into the ring yet but his immigration empathy is sure to tank him in any primary should he consider it as a long shot.

Which leaves us with the NOW and what exactly should you, Democrats and the few moderate Republicans, do on this issue a year after the Senate passed an immigration reform measure that can undoubtedly work?

Should you wait around while Cantor and Boehner and the likes in the House GOP criticize you and do nothing but make comments like there “can’t be immigration reform without strong border security and internal enforcement?”

How exactly do they explain the deportation of 2 million people at a cost of some $16.5 billion or the fact that you have spent $18 billion enforcing border security with the help of 21,000 border patrol personnel, sophisticated technology and a fence that is several hundred miles long?
What you can do Mr. President is show real compassion this Easter season and stop the deportations of non-criminal immigrants now. Immigration and legal experts agree you can, so why aren’t you moving ahead on this when it’s obvious the GOP House members won’t?

Use prosecutorial discretion given to the executive branch as Richard A. Boswell, an immigration law professor at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law, told CNN, since it allows you “inherent power to choose which cases to act on.”

Rep. Charles Rangel said in December 2013: “Mr. President, you do have the power to stop what’s going on!”  Rep. Luis Guiterrez agrees.

Why won’t you?  Show Republicans who the President of the United States is right now and shut them out of the White House for good. Not just in 2016 but beyond. You have the support of most Americans and you can help preserve the legacy of the Democratic Party for years to come. The power is literally in your hand.

Respectfully,

Felicia Persaud.

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