Obama Refuses to Meet with Undocumented DREAMers

From Crooks and Liars

June 18, 2011 05:00 PM

DREAMer Felipe Matos Catches White House In Two Lies

70 comments

By kyledeb

At Netroots Nation, Felipe Matos of the Trail of Dreams caught White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer in two lies, yesterday: (1) Obama "hears from DREAM Act Students all the time," and (2) Obama "does not have the executive authority [to stop the deportations of DREAMers]."
The first lie is probably the greatest disrespect to the migrant youth movement. It is not widely known that Obama refuses to meet with undocumented people himself. Undocumented youth have certainly confronted him at public events, but Obama refuses to meet with undocumented people to talk with them about an immigration system that is doing violence to them.
Felipe Matos would know that Obama refuses to meet with undocumented people because he himself walked 1,500 miles from Miami, FL, to Washington, D.C. only to be denied a meeting with Obama. Obama has met with currently documented former DREAMers, but not with undocumented youth themselves. Felipe himself makes this clear in the video, only to be dismissed by Pfeiffer:

Felipe Matos: He has spoken to people who are not DREAM Act-eligible, people who are not undocumented, because he has made it very clear that he doesn't want to talk to undocumented people.
Dan Pfeiffer: I don't think that's accurate.
Felipe Matos: I mean I was in meetings with Valerie Jarrett when she told me that so I know it's accurate.

Netroots Nation (17 June 2011)

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Obama in Puerto Rico

Washington Post article

Obama makes rare presidential visit to Puerto Rico

By Perry Bacon Jr.

 

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Obama makes the rounds as his new election campaign gears up.  More promises to be broken.  What happened to the DREAM Act?  Remember the promises of 2008?  

In Spanish - From Mexico City - Obama and the DREAM Act

Vamos a ver si es verdad.

Obama ofrece todo el apoyo a ley para regularizar a estudiantes indocumentados

AFP y Reuters

 

Periódico La Jornada - Mexico

Viernes 17 de septiembre de 2010, p. 25

Washington, 16 de septiembre. El presidente estadunidense, Barack Obama, prometió todo su apoyo para lograr la próxima semana los votos que permitan aprobar una ley de regularización de jóvenes estudiantes indocumentados, conocida como Dream Act, durante una reunión este jueves con congresistas hispanos.

Discutimos con el presidente cómo usar su oficina, su autoridad y poder para trabajar con el Senado en busca de los votos que permitan pasar a debate final la Dream Act, explicó Nydia Velázquez, representante demócrata, tras la reunión con Obama.

Dream Act es un proyecto de ley que abre una vía de legalización a jóvenes indocumentados en Estados Unidos que están en condiciones de entrar en la universidad, o que estarían dispuestos a enrolarse en las fuerzas armadas al término de sus estudios superiores...link

Obama Speech to Hispanic Caucus

The first thing I would like to ask is "Do you believe him?"  But then, as a number of political pundits say, its the Congress that is holding him back - that he really wants immigration reform, but he's only one guy and there are many others who have to be convinced.

link to video

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Obama to Latinos: Don't forget who stands with you

Washington Post 

Obama Humor on Arizona..

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Obama and the Nobel

Most of my students are saying that Obama should not have gotten the prize. I can see their point, but at the same time, I don't know if Americans are fully aware of his impact on the rest of the world.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/magazine/25fob-q4-t.html

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October 25, 2009

Questions for Thorbjorn Jagland

Peace Be With You

By DEBORAH SOLOMON

As a former prime minister of Norway who currently serves as the chairman of the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee, are you surprised by the uproar taking place in America over your latest pick for the peace prize?
Yes and no. I knew this would launch a big debate. But we have to look strictly to what Alfred Nobel said in his will — namely, to give the prize to the person who has done most for peaceful development in the world in the last year. So we got to the conclusion unanimously that that is President Barack Obama.

He does want to start a worldwide conversation, to reverse the go-it-alone, cowboy current in American history.
These are your words. I agree it’s better to speak than to shoot. Obama has reduced tensions in the world to a large extent — namely, the divide between the Muslim world and the Western world, which is very dangerous. What he did was to go to Cairo and reach out to the Muslims. There must be a starting point, and this was a very important starting point.

What do you make of Republicans who view the prize as a repudiation of the policies of George Bush?
No, it is not. This prize is not against anybody...

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Below is an interview with an official from the Nobel committee regarding Obama's award:

Make Nice when a Cop Yells at You

About 10 years ago, I was crossing the international border to the United States from Mexico with my cousin, who is a Mexican citizen. She was going to visit me for a few days.

The ICE officer she was speaking to about a tourists visa was outrageously rude. She is a retired school teacher, which is stated on her I.D. Instead of using the word "retirada" (retired), he said she was "retardada" (retarded). She and I were shocked at his audacity. Yet, neither one of us said anything. You cannot say anything to an ICE officer, or he'll find a way to make your life miserable. In that particular situation, she would not have been able to cross over with me.

What my cousin experienced, and many other people who cross into the U.S. (and millions of Latinos and Blacks who encounter police officers who are rude, cruel, mean, or inappropriate).

This is what happened to Henry Louis Gates. It is what some people call "living while black." Well there is also a "living while Latino."

As Bob Herbert says so eloquently, Gates' mistake was to yell at the officer. The officer's mistake was to arrest a man who already proved he was breaking the door to his own home.

Obama's remark about it being "stupid" - was not off the mark. He was reacting to an ridiculous situation that happens continuously to Black and Latino men. Being President, his choice of words could have been better - but what he said was true. I wonder how many times in his life he was treated disrespectfully because he is Black...

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Op-Ed Columnist
Anger Has Its Place

By BOB HERBERT
Published: July 31, 2009

Cambridge, Mass.


...Most whites do not want to hear about racial problems, and President Obama would rather walk through fire than spend his time dealing with them. We’re never going to have a serious national conversation about race....link to complete NYT article

link to photo

Obama and Henry Louis Gates

Obama Addresses Race and Gates Incident

By Krissah Thompson

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, July 23, 2009; 10:12 AM

President Obama said Wednesday night that racial issues still haunt America, even as he noted "the incredible progress that has been made."

Obama was asked at the end of his news conference about the arrest last week of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. outside his home. The incident has sparked a national discussion about race relations.

Obama noted that "Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here," and he referred to the professor's account of arriving home to find a jammed door, forcing it open and then being confronted by a white police officer looking for proof that Gates lived in the house. According to Gates's account, he showed the officer his ID and became angry when the officer would not identify himself.

The president said he understands the professor's outrage. If he were trying to "jigger into" his old house in Chicago, Obama said, he would assume that the police would be called on him as well. But once Gates showed his ID, he added, it seemed to him the officer should have considered the issue resolved.

"Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that," Obama said. "But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home."

The remarks received extensive coverage overnight on blogs and top billing on several television news shows Thursday morning.

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"What I think we know, separate and apart from this incident, is that there's a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact," Obama said Wednesday night. He said he had pushed for the passage of a bill in the Illinois legislature to address the problem.

Obama went on to say that he stood in the White House "as testimony to the progress that's been made."

"And yet the fact of the matter is . . . this still haunts us," he said. "And even when there are honest misunderstandings, the fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently, and oftentime for no cause, casts suspicion, even when there is good cause." ...link to complete WP article

link to photo

Obama's Speech in Cairo - June 3, 2009

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Obama in the Middle East: "No civilisation can claim to have a monopoly on universal values"

There is something beautiful about this image.  I don't usually copy recent newspaper images, but this one was so striking.  Congrats to Stephen Crowley for being such a fine artist.

As for the issue of Israel and Palestine... the conversations continue.  Thank goodness we have a U.S. President who has finally taken a stand.

Netanyahu cites secret deal with Bush to justify more settlements, London Independent, June 3, 2009

Action must follow Obama's words,  London Guardian, June 3, 2009

by Tariq Ramadan

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 3 June 2009 13.01 BST

         

Obama's speech to Muslims will mean little if its symbolism is not followed up by concrete measures to restore trust

...Barack Obama has this legacy to reverse. In talking to the Muslims, he should talk to the US and the west as well, for the scars of mistrust are deep. Obama has been very smart and cautious in delivering his political messages during the first months of his presidency. He repeatedly expressed his respect towards Islam and Muslims, announcing the closure of Guantanamo and cessation of torture and even becoming tougher towards the Israeli government regarding settlements. These are positive steps one should not deny.

Yet, symbolic acts and speeches are not enough. What we expect from the new president is effective and necessary action as well as a change in attitude. Humility is a key factor. In our global age, the United States might still be the most powerful nation in the world, but it does not have the monopoly on what is good and right. Being open to the world starts with being open to all civilisations and by acknowledging the potential positive contribution of every religion and culture. Islam is a great civilisation and Barack Obama should bring a message of true and deep respect by announcing that we all have to learn from each other and that he will commit himself to spreading knowledge of cultural and religious diversity in the United States itself. Humility means we all have to learn from one another and America should be ready to learn from Islam and Muslims as well as from the Hindus or the Buddhists. Paradoxically, how Obama intends to deal with education and religious diversity at home will be the true indicator of his real policy towards Islam and Muslims in the world.

No civilisation can claim to have a monopoly on universal values and no one can claim to be always faithful to his own values. President Obama must stress the ideal values and human rights the United States stands for but he has also to acknowledge mistakes, failures and contradictions when it comes to their implementation. Lack of consistency is a weakness shared by all nations. The best way for the president to be heard when he calls for human rights and democratisation and announces the start of a new era in relations with Muslims would be to start by being constructively self-critical and acknowledging that the US can and will do much better in respecting the values it stands for. It should do so by implementing just policies towards the Muslim world and poor countries. This humble attitude, based on the imperative duty of consistency, is not a position of weakness but the exact opposite: in this way, Obama can remind leaders as well as ordinary Muslims of their own inconsistencies and duties. Only a consistent and self-critical US president can remind Muslims that they have to act against corruption, extremism, dictatorships, lack of educational policies, discrimination towards women and poor people and be heard with a minimum of trust.

Muslims are waiting for action and they know from experience (with the US as well as with their own governments) that politicians are good at words. Barack Obama has a very special status today in the world and especially in the Muslim world. He is one of the only US presidents who has had both the background and the capacity to be more than simply a symbol spreading beautiful words. It would be sad to lose this historic opportunity and one must hope he has a vision and an efficient strategy for his country and the world. On domestic issues, when it comes to discrimination, security, immigration and equal opportunities, Barack Obama must help us to forget that he is African-American by promoting promote equal rights and justice. At the international level he should help us forget that his father was a Muslim by refusing to be shy or apologetic and respecting the rights of both individuals and populations in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The message he is to send to Muslims should come from a president positioning himself beyond specific colour and religious belonging with humility, consistency and respect. While delivering his speech he should make it clear that after many years of deafness in Washington, he has begun to listen. for complete article

  

Obama to tell Israel: Form new peace policy by July

Haaretz - Israel, June 3, 2009

Obama made a surprise appearance on Tuesday at a meeting Defense Minister Ehud Barak was holding in Washington, shortly before the U.S. leader was set to leave on a five-day trip to the Middle East. 

Obama spoke for about 15 minutes with Barak, who was meeting with National Security Adviser General Jim Jones at the time. While Obama's official schedule did not include a meeting with Barak, he has in the past dropped into other officials' meetings with international figures. 

According to an official Israeli source, Obama wants to complete the formulation of a preliminary six-month plan for progress toward a Middle East peace agreement and to present it in July. link to complete article

Obama Plays Down Divide With Israel, New York Times, June 3, 2009

The Pictures You Take in Your Twenties

Photos of Barack Obama in 1980, by Lisa Jack

link to photos

Telling you the truth, I am 56 years old, probably much older than some of my DREAMer readers would imagine.  Back when I was an 18 year old college student, I asked a cute photographer at Wharton County Junior College to take my photograph.  I still remember his name, it was Brian Noble.  I always wondered what happened to him.  He ended up taking pictures of me on a motorcycle.  He was nice enough to go into the dark room and print them for me.  I have to admit, I had a crush on him and it was an excuse to have a conversation, but he was courteous, took the pictures, gave them to me and never spoke to me again (except to say hi in the hallway).  Someday I'll find them and put them on the blog.

So here we have a young woman photographer (Lisa Jack) at Occidental College in 1980.  She asked a cute freshman if he'd let her photograph him.  Who would have thought that 29 years later, the guy would be President of the United States.  I think it is awesome.  

What it teaches us is that you never know what is going to happen in the future.  He may have shown his charisma then, but to be President?  

There is an exhibition opening at M+B Gallery in West Hollywood tomorrow (May 28, 2009).  If you are in the neighborhood, drop by and see it.

The moral of the story?  Always take pictures when you can.  You never know what will happen 30 years later.

"Photos Show Barack Obama as Barry the Freshman,"  Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2009

click here for Lisa Jack's Photos of Obama as published in Time Magazine

Images can Mean Powerful Things

Obama shaking the hand of a policeman in London






thanks to Matthew Countryman for sending this out

Obama and Cuba

In Spanish:

Obama ofrece a Cuba “un nuevo comienzo,” Milenio.com, April 18, 2009

Immigration, the Unions, and Obama

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New York Times - April 14, 2009
Editorial
Immigration Reform and Hard Times

The Obama administration said last week that it would begin a major push for immigration reform this year. The country’s two big labor federations just announced that they are joining forces to support that effort, which includes a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. That’s double good news.

The administration is saying that it will keep its promise to fix the broken system, even if it means pushing the hottest of hot buttons: legalization, the dreaded “amnesty” that sets the Republican right wing ablaze and makes many Democrats quiver.

We are also heartened that American labor is speaking with a united voice in hard times, rejecting the false claim that fixing the immigration system will somehow hurt American workers. Even in a bad economy — especially in a bad economy — getting undocumented immigrants on the right side of the law only makes sense.

Administration officials said President Obama planned to speak publicly about the issue next month and would convene working groups this summer, à la health care, to begin discussing future legislation. Immigrant advocates were ecstatic, though it is important to note that this was not a promise to move a bill, only to start the debate. Even that is not going to be easy. Reform was thwarted in the last two Congresses by obstructionist Republicans committed to the delusion that expelling 12 million people amounts to a realistic policy.

The country has suffered mightily in the meantime. American workers and businesses continue to be undercut by the underground economy. The economic potential of some of the country’s most industrious workers is thwarted. Working off the books — and living in constant fear of apprehension — they earn less, spend less, pay less in taxes and have little ability to report abuses or to improve their skills or job prospects.

The ingredients of reform are clear: legalization for the 12 million, to yield bumper crops of new citizens, to make it easier to weed out criminals and to end the fear and hopelessness of life in the shadows; sensible enforcement at the border that focuses resources on fighting crime, drugs and violence; a strengthened employment system that punishes businesses that exploit illegal labor; and a future flow of workers that is attuned to the economy’s needs and fully protects workers’ rights.

The last point has been a sticky one with some unions. The agreement between the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Change to Win — a rival federation that includes service employees, the Teamsters and carpenters — will center on a new approach to future immigration, a compromise in which an independent national commission calibrates the size of temporary-worker programs each year, based on conditions in labor markets. It may not be a perfect plan, but after years of vitriol, it’s encouraging to hear calmer voices outlining smart reform.

We expect to hear more from Mr. Obama soon. It will take courage to defend the wisdom and necessity of fixing the immigration system. It will take even more courage to engage in the serious fight to do so. It is what the country needs and what American voters elected Mr. Obama to do. link to NYT article

Obama and Mexico

Obama is meeting with Mexican President Calderon this week.  He will also be attending the meeting of the Fifth Summit of the Americas.  There is hope he will discuss U.S. immigration policy and the Cuban Embargo.

see "Obama seeks new relationship with Latin America," Washington Post/Reuters, April 12, 2009

Taking on Netanyahu

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April 9, 2009
On the White House
With ‘Annapolis,’ a Warning to Israel

New York Times
By HELENE COOPER

WASHINGTON—Watchers of Middle East politics were quick to take note of a line in President Obama’s address before the Turkish Parliament on Monday in Ankara, in which he mentioned “Annapolis.”

By bringing up the word, Mr. Obama was sending a warning to the government of new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that reneging on the goals outlined during the Annapolis Middle East peace conference in 2007 would put Mr. Netanyahu on the wrong foot with the Obama administration.

The issue sprouted last week when Israel’s hawkish new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that agreements reached at the American-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Md., have “no validity.” Mr. Lieberman said that the Israeli government “never ratified Annapolis, nor did Parliament.”

The aim of the Annapolis process, as it became known, was to agree on the framework for a Palestinian state alongside Israel by the end of 2008, a goal which was never reached.

Mr. Obama had not referred to the Annapolis conference in any of his major public remarks on Mideast peace since he took office.

But there he was on Monday, directly rebutting Mr. Lieberman’s comments in his most high-profile address about America’s relationship with the Muslim world, before Turkish legislators. He would push for a two-state solution, Mr. Obama said, despite the view of many foreign policy experts that such a goal will be even more difficult to reach because of the makeup of the new Israeli government under Mr. Netanyahu, not to mention the fractured state of internal Palestinian politics.

“Let me be clear: the United States strongly supports the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,” Mr. Obama said. “That is a goal that the parties agreed to in the road map and at Annapolis. That is a goal that I will actively pursue as president.” The road map refers to a 2003 outline of steps toward a peace agreement.

Asked why Mr. Obama suddenly decided to start tossing the word “Annapolis” around, Denis McDonough, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, did not elaborate much, apparently deciding to let his boss’s statement speak for itself. “I think the president is speaking directly about his views and his hopes for relations among Israelis and Palestinians, as well as his hopes for a broader Arab-Israeli peace,” Mr. McDonough said.

But privately, several administration officials and Middle East experts said that Mr. Obama is girding for a protracted showdown with the new Israeli government over the pursuit of Palestinian statehood...link to complete article

Obama's Speech to Congress - February 24

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Think before you criticize

In typical form, we are finding so many faults with Barack Obama.  He hasn't doesn't it well enough, should have had more control over the economic stimulus bill.  We are also saying that Michelle Obama doesn't have enough fashion taste (she looks ok to me, but then I'm not a fashion designer).  Please!  Why is it so important to look at what we think are the defects?

Is it part of the old "we hate the boss" syndrome?  Obama is not perfect, but my goodness, what a difference from his predecessor.  We should be thankful that W's reign of terror is over.

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Rupert Cornwell: Don't believe the critics – Obama is off to a good start

For once a US politician is treating his electorate as grown-ups
London Independent
Friday, 13 February 2009


He hasn't waved a magic wand and solved the economic crisis. Since his inauguration barely three weeks ago – an interval that already feels in some ways like three years – Wall Street has tumbled further. The right accuses him of being a socialist, the left complains he's too centrist. Elements of both say he's ill-prepared and naïve. "Amateur Hour", blared a headline in The Washington Post, summing up a widespread first impression of the 44th president at work.

The truth is rather different. Mercifully, the giddy euphoria of victory is no more. Inevitably, in febrile hyperventilating Washington, DC, the pendulum has now swung towards disappointment. In truth however Barack Obama has got off to a good start. Events may yet derail him, but the promise of his presidency is no less now than it was on that 4 November night in Chicago's Grant Park, when all things seemed possible.

Inside his first fortnight, he signed two important pieces of legislation, one establishing equality of pay for men and women, the other expanding health care to 4 million uninsured children. And now the amateur president has secured Congressional approval for an $800bn economic stimulus bill, the largest such measure in American history.

The process wasn't pretty. But such things rarely are – least of all when the Republican opposition is out to test him. But Obama got more or less what he wanted, as even the most diehard Republicans realised that the party could only ignore 4 November's message at its peril.

Thus far, Obama in government has almost exactly resembled the Obama on display during the general election campaign. His decisions have been those of a pragmatist who rejects the extremes, convinced of the power of reason and common sense to prevail. Thus, to the anger of the left, he has rejected any witchhunt into the transgressions of the Bush administration, believing it is more important to confront the future than to rake over the past...more

Obama's Interview with Al-Arabyia -

Part I



Part II

Open Letter to Obama RE: Immigration Policy

From Democracy in Action

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

http://www.nnirr.org/

Take Action to Ensure the Human Rights, Safety and Well-Being of Immigrant Communities!

DEADLINE TODAY: Friday, January 23rd (Friday). Sign now!

CLICK HERE: 

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5702/t/4329/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=201

We believe we have an opportunity -- indeed a mandate -- to demand no less than an end to the cycle of punishment and abuse against immigrant communities: stopping raids and suspending detentions and deportations is not only a part of our agenda for immigration reform, it is a pre-requisite for a genuine, rights-based immigration policy. Join our “Open Letter” to President Barack Obama, to be released on January 27th.