New York Daily News (Opinion by Albor Ruiz): President Obama's speech at dedication ceremonies for the monument honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. last weekend was moving, well-crafted and masterfully delivered - it was Obama at his best.
Yet, a segment of the speech came as a surprise - even more, as a shock - to thousands of people. It had to do with immigration, and it laid bare once more the profound contradiction between the President's words and his actions.
The Rev. King, Obama said, reminds us "to show compassion to the immigrant family, with the knowledge that most of us are just a few generations removed from similar hardships."
Truer words were never spoken. Yet, coming from the President, they provoked immediate and passionate reactions from the immigration community.
"While Obama's words about compassion for immigrant families are most welcome, Obama's deeds and their effects on immigrants provide an astonishing contrast," said Roberto Lovato of Presente.org, an online pro-immigration group.
"As documented in the PBS Frontline special 'Lost in Detention,' President Obama's policies have led to the record-and-heartbreaking deportation of more than one million immigrants, the separation of thousands of families and the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands more," Lovato added.
In "Lost in Detention," Frontline correspondent María Hinojosa reveals the darkest aspects of Obama's immigration policy. It aired yesterday on PBS Channel 13 at 9p.m.
In this powerful and heart-wrenching documentary, Hinojosa, in partnership with American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop, looks at the controversial Secure Communities enforcement program and explores "the hidden world of immigration detention."
What she found makes for a harrowing catalogue of abuse and neglect.
"During a year-long investigation, Frontline uncovered a troubling picture of abuse inside immigration detention facilities, including more than a dozen allegations of sexual abuse at Willacy (located in Raymondville, Tex., it is the largest immigrant detention facility in the U.S.) as well as alleged cases of beatings, racism and management coverups," said a press release for "Lost in Detention."
Not surprisingly, Lovato and other Latino activists, who watched the documentary in an earlier viewing, were outraged enough to initiate political action in 10 cities.
Yesterday, Lovato said, Latinos, immigrants and their allies held a National Day of Action dubbed "Obama, Immigration and the Latino Community" in New York, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Tucson, Boston, Atlanta and Kansas City.
Their purpose was to devise a strategy to counter the racial profiling program of Secure Communities and the sexual abuse, denial of due process, separation of families and other abuses exposed in "Lost in Detention."
"I expected better from him," said Nena Torres, a former informal adviser to the presidential campaign, echoing the disenchantment of many Obama supporters with his immigration tactics. "I don't think I ever contemplated the fact that maybe he would be worse than any other American President of the United States on the issue of immigration."
Ironically, with his reelection campaign around the corner, Obama may have painted himself into a corner. No matter how far he goes with his administration's repressive tactics he will never gain the support of conservatives and many independents, but he will have succeeded in pushing away the same Latino voters who turned out in great numbers to help elect him in 2008.
"The issues of immigrant and Latino imprisonment that are exposed in 'Lost in Detention' will surely be a major concern in the upcoming elections," Lovato said. "Latino families throughout the U.S. are deeply concerned with such reports because they expose the extremism that lies at the heart of President Obama's Secure Communities, detention policies and other immigration policies."
Certainly not good news for Obama's reelection aspirations.
Yet, a segment of the speech came as a surprise - even more, as a shock - to thousands of people. It had to do with immigration, and it laid bare once more the profound contradiction between the President's words and his actions.
The Rev. King, Obama said, reminds us "to show compassion to the immigrant family, with the knowledge that most of us are just a few generations removed from similar hardships."
Truer words were never spoken. Yet, coming from the President, they provoked immediate and passionate reactions from the immigration community.
"While Obama's words about compassion for immigrant families are most welcome, Obama's deeds and their effects on immigrants provide an astonishing contrast," said Roberto Lovato of Presente.org, an online pro-immigration group.
"As documented in the PBS Frontline special 'Lost in Detention,' President Obama's policies have led to the record-and-heartbreaking deportation of more than one million immigrants, the separation of thousands of families and the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands more," Lovato added.
In "Lost in Detention," Frontline correspondent María Hinojosa reveals the darkest aspects of Obama's immigration policy. It aired yesterday on PBS Channel 13 at 9p.m.
In this powerful and heart-wrenching documentary, Hinojosa, in partnership with American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop, looks at the controversial Secure Communities enforcement program and explores "the hidden world of immigration detention."
What she found makes for a harrowing catalogue of abuse and neglect.
"During a year-long investigation, Frontline uncovered a troubling picture of abuse inside immigration detention facilities, including more than a dozen allegations of sexual abuse at Willacy (located in Raymondville, Tex., it is the largest immigrant detention facility in the U.S.) as well as alleged cases of beatings, racism and management coverups," said a press release for "Lost in Detention."
Not surprisingly, Lovato and other Latino activists, who watched the documentary in an earlier viewing, were outraged enough to initiate political action in 10 cities.
Yesterday, Lovato said, Latinos, immigrants and their allies held a National Day of Action dubbed "Obama, Immigration and the Latino Community" in New York, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Tucson, Boston, Atlanta and Kansas City.
Their purpose was to devise a strategy to counter the racial profiling program of Secure Communities and the sexual abuse, denial of due process, separation of families and other abuses exposed in "Lost in Detention."
"I expected better from him," said Nena Torres, a former informal adviser to the presidential campaign, echoing the disenchantment of many Obama supporters with his immigration tactics. "I don't think I ever contemplated the fact that maybe he would be worse than any other American President of the United States on the issue of immigration."
Ironically, with his reelection campaign around the corner, Obama may have painted himself into a corner. No matter how far he goes with his administration's repressive tactics he will never gain the support of conservatives and many independents, but he will have succeeded in pushing away the same Latino voters who turned out in great numbers to help elect him in 2008.
"The issues of immigrant and Latino imprisonment that are exposed in 'Lost in Detention' will surely be a major concern in the upcoming elections," Lovato said. "Latino families throughout the U.S. are deeply concerned with such reports because they expose the extremism that lies at the heart of President Obama's Secure Communities, detention policies and other immigration policies."
Certainly not good news for Obama's reelection aspirations.
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