Society and Culture
Immigration Isn’t a Joke, Mr. President
Hey y’all!
Last week I wrote about President Obama coming to visit Texas and the issues I have with him and Houston’s independent school district. I thought I would be able to say my peace and move on. Unfortunately that is not the case. As the week went on there was more and more talk about immigration and I feel like it is time for me to say a little bit more.
First of all, it was great to see that President Obama got off of his high horse for a little while to even speak with Governor Perry, but it did not seem like it was taken too seriously. I’m sure you’ve all seen the photo of Obama and Perry sitting at a table together: Obama is laughing away and in a jolly good mood whereas Perry has a sour look on his face. There have been jokes and comments made about Perry being too serious and Obama trying to defuse the situation. No one knows what was actually going on in that room when the picture was taken but I think that it is fair to say that the look on Perry’s face is one of frustration. In this state immigration is a real issue. It can be talked about over and over and over again in DC, but the realities don’t hit as hard as they do here.
I can appreciate that Obama agreed with some of the points that Perry made, but then he had to go and make a stupid comment. In a speech after the meeting he stated, “You know, they said we needed to triple the Border Patrol. Or now they’re going to say we need to quadruple the Border Patrol. Or they’ll want a higher fence. Maybe they’ll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat. They’ll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That’s politics.”
So where is the problem? The problem for me is this entire statement. He basically just laughed off the entire situation in a matter of seconds. Not to mention he made himself look like an idiot by stating we would want a moat. Dear Mr. President, please take out your third grade geography book and notice that there is a RIVER that separates a good portion of Texas from Mexico, that little thing called the Rio Grande. Details. Yes, I know he was making a joke and being overly dramatic but let’s get something straight: this is not a joking matter. For him to come out and make jokes about a serious issue in our country is disrespectful and shows how little he cares about the domestic issues.
In the last day or so there have been reports that 40 illegal immigrants were returned to their homes in Honduras, including adults and children. Forty immigrants, and government officials are claiming that is “a step in the right direction.” Excuse me? Forty immigrants is a step in the right direction? Among the estimated 82,000 who are still sitting in federal housing, they chose to send back 40. That is a laughable number. The average Boeing 747 airplane can seat 416 passengers. That is 376 empty seats on a plane for those 40 people to stretch out across. I know that there is a method to what needs to be done before sending these people back to their countries but maybe processing more than 40 at a time would help the situation.
Immigration issues won’t be fixed overnight, I realize that. But having a president who blatantly and publicly makes fun of the issue is not a step in the right direction and is actually a huge step back. If the President of the United States doesn’t really care about the issue then why should anyone else care about it? His job is to not only lead us but to represent us in the global arena, and when he shows weakness and disdain for his own people that shows the world that they can have the same lack of respect for our country and our citizens.
Superpower, what superpower?
—
Allison Dawson (@AllyD528) Born in Germany, raised in Mississippi and Texas. Graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University. Currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative.
Featured image courtesy of [U.S. Customs and Border Protection via Flickr]
Comments