Nevada lawmaker calls for review of deportations under Obama

By Bev Llorente, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

June 10, 2014

LAS VEGAS – The Obama administration may have made efforts to change deportation policies in America but immigrants and their advocates say it’s not enough.

They have tagged President Barack Obama as the “Deporter-in-Chief” who has reportedly deported a record two million immigrants during his presidency.

Nevada congressman Rep. Steven Horsford said they have called for a review of these deportations.

“A thousand family members are being torn apart a day and it’s very troubling,” Rep. Horsford said. “But what we need more than fixing the deportations is a permanent fix, and only Congress can fix that by passing immigration reform. And there’s only one person standing in our way, Speaker John Boehner, because he is not allowing us to vote.”

Horsford said it would only take 20 minutes to vote for immigration reform if ever it is put out for a vote by Boehner, who he says is delaying it because of pressure from the GOP.

“The issue of immigration reform, this should not be a partisan issue,” Rep. Horsford said. “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that this is their number one legislative priority. So Republicans should listen to the business sector that says we need to pass the comprehensive immigration reform. If they really stand for family values then they should be willing to vote for immigration reforms.”

Horsford said whether the House will act on immigration reform before the August recess or not, the President will use his executive power to implement immigration reform measures.

“But that will not be a permanent fix,” Horsford said. “I was just meeting with a group of Dreamers who got a deferred action, who now have to go through the process all over again. It cost $425. It’s time consuming and it’s not a permanent fix and so there’s still this cloud even for Dreamers that they can’t necessarily plan for their future because every couple of years they are wondering is this going to get renewed or not. That’s not what we need. We need permanent immigration reform bill and I’m ready to vote”

This kababayan Dreamer who asked not to be identified said the comprehensive immigration reform bill is their best hope for a future in America.

“There’s a lot of children like me that want to be a citizen,” said the Dreamer. “Sometimes they can’t, they can’t afford it as well. So with the help of the government, it will. Hopefully more children will come and have the dream that I have.”

Meantime despite the bill’s uncertain future in Congress, a new poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brooking Institution found that more than 62 percent of Americans still agree that undocumented immigrants should be given a pathway to legalization and ultimately a brighter future in their adopted country.