Prod Obama to Reduce Numbers Being Deported
Washington Times: With deportations up under President Obama, immigration rights advocates on Thursday called on him to use executive authority to reduce the number of illegal immigrants being deported, and vowed a city-by-city campaign to press the issue. With Congress unlikely to act this year on a bill to legalize such immigrants, the advocates are appealing to the president to step in and halt deportations in the meantime. They said many illegal immigrants are the victims of a broken system and deserve to stay - particularly if they have children who were born here, thus are U.S. citizens who could be separated from their deported parents. "In this climate, we cannot expect Congress to take action to right these wrongs, but change can still happen if President Obama can find the courage of his convictions," said Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. The activists said Mr. Obama promised action on immigration in his campaign, and feel slighted that he used his political capital to push other issues during his first two years in office. Mr. Obama has said he wants Congress to act, but didn't put legislative muscle behind the cause until the lame-duck session last year, when his belated efforts to legalize illegal-immigrant students and young adults fell short.
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