Thread: Immigration Activists Don’t Buy Hillary Clinton’s “Political” Answer

posted on Sept. 14, 2014, at 5:51 p.m.
Adrian Carrasquillo
buzzfeed.com

An Iowa DREAMer confronted Hillary Clinton a day after a similar moment with Joaquin Castro. Disgust at her answer — and a sign that “no Democrat is safe.”



Three young, undocumented people confronted Hillary Clinton in Iowa Sunday as she signed items and greeted supporters, the latest sign that President Obama’s decision to delay action on immigration won’t take the pressure off his party.

One woman asked her about President Obama’s decision to delay expected executive actions on immigration.

“Hello my name is Monica Reyes and I’m an Iowa DREAMer,” said the 23-year-old activist and senior at the University of Northern Iowa, using the term often employed for undocumented youth brought to the country as children.

Clinton gave an enthusiastic thumbs up and yelled “yay!”

Asked to give her thoughts on Obama’s decision, Clinton answered, “Well, I think we have to just keep working, can’t stop ever working.”

Cesar Vargas, the co-director of the Arizona-based Dream Action Coalition, then told Clinton the president had broken promises to the Latino community and asked if she supported his decision. Clinton ended the back and forth.

“Well, I think we have to elect more Democrats,” she said, before walking away.

But a leader of the small group of DREAMers who crashed the Iowa event said they weren’t satisfied with the answer.

“It was sad to hear the answer she gave. It shouldn’t be about the politics,” said Erika Andiola, a high-profile DREAMer who shot the video.

“If Hillary Clinton is going to try to stand for the immigrant community she’s going to have to show she’s better than the president — a champion for immigrants and not just another deporter-in-chief,” Andiola told BuzzFeed News.

And she said Clinton will have to take substantive stances if she hopes to be seen as a leader by the immigrant community.

“For her to answer like that to Monica whose parents could be deported, it’s such a political answer,” Andiola said.

DREAMers have played a large role in the recent immigration debate, and many benefitted from President Obama’s decision to normalize the status of some people who arrived in the country as children. Reyes told BuzzFeed News she works with immigrants and DREAMers in Iowa and felt confronting the former Secretary of State was important because of the outsized attention Iowa will receive in the coming 2016 race for president.

She said she enthusiastically supported Obama in 2007, when she went see him speak at a middle school in New Hampton, Iowa during his campaign for the Democratic nomination, and listened as he spoke up for young immigrants. But since then, she said, she has been disappointed with the stops and starts on immigration and delays.

“A lot of Latinos did vote for him and support Democrats and we’re not getting our voice taken seriously,” she said. “We have to keep pressuring them on their promises.”

That appears to be exactly the strategy that has emerged after Obama’s recent decision to delay promised executive action that would improve the legal situation of millions of undocumented immigrants. At the time, even White House press secretary Josh Earnest acknowledged that the president knew he would take pressure on himself from activists. It now appears other leading Democrats will be asked to answer publicly for his decision by DREAMers.

The confrontation in Iowa with Clinton comes a day after a Texas DREAMer confronted Joaquin Castro and longtime union activist Eliseo Medina over the president’s delay.

“No Democrat is safe because they chose politics over giving relief to families,” said Andiola.


http://www.buzzfeed.com/adriancarras...n-delay#lf96vr

Three young, undocumented people confronted Hillary Clinton in Iowa Sunday as she signed items and greeted supporters, the latest sign that President Obama’s decision to delay action on immigration won’t take the pressure off his party.

Undocumented? Illegal aliens allowed to run wide all over the country - should have been arrested and deported. jmo

by Tony Lee 15 Sep 2014, 3:46 PM PDT
breitbart



The DREAMer who pestered Hillary Clinton about amnesty in Iowa on Sunday was not happy with Clinton's dodge.

Clinton ducked questions from DREAMers at Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-IA) Steak Fry, even giving two thumbs up and saying "yay" to DREAMers who are facing deportation.

"I was not really happy with what she said," Monica Reyes, who yelled questions at her, said on Monday. "We really need to hold Democrats accountable for this broken promise on immigration reform, and her response didn't really help out with that."

On MSNBC's Jose Diaz-Balart, Reyes said she wants to hear Democrats like Clinton say they "actually are going to be doing something about immigration, that they will stop the delay, that they will start acting now."

Reyes said that since Clinton is expected to make a White House run, "we really want to know that she supports immigrants and will be supporting immigration reform." Reyes said DREAMers will continue to ramp up "pressure on Democrats" like Clinton because "they made this promise on immigration reform and we really want to see that happen."

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...rease-Pressure

by Caroline May 15 Sep 2014, 9:33 AM PDT
breitbart

Immigration activists are slamming former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her answer about President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty delay, contrasting it with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) rejection of the delay.

A video released Sunday by the pro-amnesty group Dream Action Coalition highlighted Clinton’s response over the weekend to immigration activists at the Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa.

When asked if she supports Obama’s decision to delay his executive amnesty until after the election, Clinton responded, “You know I think we need to elect more Democrats.”

The group’s video continues to highlight the response from Sanders — who is also considering a run for president — to the same question.

“Somebody who is a strong supporter of the DREAMers, congratulations,” Sanders says in the video. “I believe he should have acted. You know I think again, his life is a difficult life. And that he has you know — there’s no particular reason to believe that the Republicans will do anything in the House. But should he do more with executive action? Yes, I think he should.”

The Dream Action Coalition, in its video, follows Sanders' comments up by charging Clinton is only about politics.

“Hillary is about politics and her party. Not families,” the text in the video reads.

Last week the White House promised Hispanic lawmakers that Obama would take executive action on immigration by the end of the year.



http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...ialist-Sanders