Obama on Immigration Reform: "Blame Republicans"

by Julián Aguilar
July 25, 2011
16 Comments

President Obama today blamed Republicans for his administration’s failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, saying several conservative lawmakers who once supported the measure have buckled under political pressure.

“Let's be honest; I need a dance partner here, and the floor is empty,” he told an audience at the annual National Council of La Raza conference in Washington, D.C. “Five years ago, 23 Republican senators supported comprehensive immigration reform because they knew it was the right thing to do for the economy and it was the right thing to do for America. Today they’ve walked away.”

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Comments (16)

July 25, 2011 @ 3:05 p.m.

Michael Cosper via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Dancing with Republicans Obama? A Democrat would know better.
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:07 p.m.

Richard Stewart via Texas Tribune on Facebook

I certainly know this was not the fault of one person. Like the Debt ceiling, It is time for the nursery school to close and time for Congress to Act like Americans standing up for Americans, instead of being selfish greedy scrooges trying to take from the elderly and disabled.. DO YOUR JOB for the PEOPLE ! You're there to protect the people , not take them down !
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:09 p.m.

Rick Chafey via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Please. Obambam is nothing but a shill and our society is doomed. Pass the caviar.
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:09 p.m.

Evan Mintz via Texas Tribune on Facebook

This is Obama's biggest flaw. Every action needs to be some grand consensus or bipartisan deal. Problem is that people don't want to dance. Sometimes you have to go out on the dancefloor by yourself and boogie until other people come and join you. It is called being a leader. Or getting the party started. The metaphors are a bit confused at this point.
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:22 p.m.

David Huang via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Obama's been trying to dance with Republicans ever since he got into office, has he ever gotten a dance partner? I think David Brooks had it right last week on Charlie Rose when he said that there are politicians who are so vehemently and emotionally opposed to dealing with Obama that they're willing to screw over everyone in the country. Doesn't matter if they previously supported certain policies and measures or not.
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:22 p.m.

Clinton Curnutt via Texas Tribune on Facebook

“With the national debt at $14.5 trillion, it’s unbelievable that President Obama continues to call for amnesty legislation,” he said. “Illegal immigrants have contributed to our debt crisis — they pay little, if any, in income taxes and drain taxpayer dollars.” - U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee

And how much did GE or the top 200 corporations pay in income taxes. Oh, I remember little if any. How can we as Texans stand for such lies? It's amazing! How much did they pay in Texas state income taxes, oh, ZERO! But how much did property owners pay in property taxes? Way too much! Our country had a 86 billion per year surplus and you guys spent it and now you don't want to pay the bills! UGH!
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:28 p.m.

Jose B. Gonzalez via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Just a few short years ago, quite a few Republican politicians were all for immigration reform but as soon as Obama came into office they changed their stance. Just 5 years ago 23 REPUBLICAN politicians VOTED FOR immigration reform - today, you can't find one and all who voted for it 5 years ago seem to have forgetten their previous stance... The economy collapsed and as usual - in America when the economy goes bad, we look for someone to blame. Throughout history Americans have laid that blame on the current newcomer to America, we like to blame the most vulnerable group of "foreigners". If you review history you will see that in the past we've blamed the Italians, the Irish, the Asians and many others... Today, its time to blame Latinos - more specifically those who originate from the 1st few countries south of our border. History repeats itself again and again and again... We've learned nothing from our countrys past mistakes...
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:48 p.m.

Luisa Newton via Texas Tribune on Facebook

I believe that people have migrated as long as there have been people (think of those sailing Pilgrims migrating here...). I embrace it, I believe immigration reform makes sense AND cents for the USA
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July 25, 2011 @ 3:48 p.m.

Tim Tukaram Spotswood via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Good economy or bad economy is irrelevant. Legal immigration is good. Illegal immigration is unacceptable. That is the law. Finish the fence, deport anyone not here legally (I don't care what country or continent they are from). Anyone that wants to be an American should do what my grandfather did - get in line and immigrate legally!
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July 25, 2011 @ 4:23 p.m.

John Reiser via Texas Tribune on Facebook

I'm just relieved, because when I saw the headline, my first thought was that the POTUS was going to imitate Tom Delay and compete in "Dancing with the Stars." Seriously, the embarrassing thing is that Loathsome Lame R. Smith, quoted above by Mr. Curnutt, is my Congressman. We had an excellent candidate--Lainey Melnick--against him in 2010, but she was dramatically under-financed in a district gerrymandered to be a Republican "safe" seat forever. That still does not excuse sending that pillar of pomposity to Washington.
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July 25, 2011 @ 5:18 p.m.

Karen Cummings via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Tim, There is no line to get in. You might want to educate yourself regarding this fact. Our immigration laws are broken and need to be reformed.
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July 25, 2011 @ 6:21 p.m.

Tim Tukaram Spotswood via Texas Tribune on Facebook

How many immigrants do you personally know Karen? Over 1/2 of my friends are 1st generation Americans. If they can get green cards coming from Fiji, South Africa, Croatia, India, Argentina ... you can't say the system is broken, unless you just like repeating political buzzwords. We've had friends from Holland and Ireland get picked up at their houses and deported by INS. Mexicans just get special treatment because they can walk across the border.
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July 25, 2011 @ 7:14 p.m.

Jose B. Gonzalez via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Tim - the truth is there is a line, actually two lines. One for the few people who have certain high demand skills such as nurses, Dr's, Engineers etc... Then there's the other line - the one in which few people are given the opportunity to come to America - its also the same line your grandfather would be standing in, if he were trying to immigrate today... When your grandfather came to America the requirements were few, the doors were in a figure of speech WIDE OPEN - most ANYONE could and did immigrate to the USA in those days. Even with the doors wide open back then, its believed that many immigrants lied on their immigration applications in one way or another, in order to avoid delays in entering the USA - like today, back then there was insufficient manpower to audit all applications so few were thoroughly scrutinized - if they had been scrutinized many of those immigrants would have been deported for lying on their application - food for thought - your grandaddy might have been one of them. To say that the system isn't broken is to be in denial or worse... Unemployment is sky high but yet certain jobs go unfilled, employers complain that they can't fill some of the lowest paid and least sought after jobs. Why - I ask myself??? Because we Americans refuse to do certain types of jobs, we will not perform those jobs unless we are homeless or going hungry - that is the sad truth... Difficult to swallow but nonetheless its the truth... We need these poor people with little to no education to perform these jobs...

Last but not least, when I lived in Oklahoma I met a few Native Americans there - they used to say that they have been fighting illegal immigration since 1492... That would include your grandfather and you and I guess a portion of me since I know I'm not 100% of Mexican Indian descent...
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July 26, 2011 @ 11:12 a.m.

Tucano Fulano

The $14 Trillion credit card debt Obama as the Donkey-in-Chief has run up in great part comes from his obstruction of justice fighting the enforcement of current immigration laws. Some 25 million illegal aliens are sucking money out of the pockets of Americans and Obama adds injury to injury by protecting these criminals with 'sanctuary cities' and looking the other way and by giving a wink and a nod at the damage to America these criminals cause.
July 26, 2011 @ 4:23 p.m.

Hannah Katz

B.O. feels a need to blame someone, usually Republicans, for everything. It is all about getting re-elected in 2012. Nothing else really matters. Fortunately, he is an expert on everything. Just ask him. We commoners now need to shut up and pay our taxes. He who must not be named has some grand plans.
October 18, 2011 @ 1:08 p.m.

voteforamerica

The truth about illegal immigration, is treason and all the SOBS responsibles for this invasion should be hung