Obama Uses Immigration Reform as a Cynical Ploy



By Troy Senik
Thursday, May 12 2011

Barack Obama, fresh off the biggest triumph of his presidency, was given a rare opportunity by the death of Osama Bin Laden: the chance to be effortlessly presidential, floating above the partisan fray and standing as a totem of unity in a country riven by ideological polarization. That promise expired on Tuesday, when Obama traveled to El Paso, Texas, to deliver what the White House billed as a major speech on immigration reform.

Far from calling on his newfound gravitas, Obama instead resorted to the kind of partisan bomb-throwing that wiser men delegate to their deputies.

Thumbing his nose at his opposition, Obama – arguing for the widespread amnesty of illegal immigrants – said, "We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement ... 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."

It was a cute line that generated some laughs from the audience. Unfortunately, it had no bearing on the debate. The Obama Administration may have increased resources on the border (as did the Bush Administration before it, also as a fig leaf for amnesty) and even upped deportations. For those, it deserves credit. But when illegal immigrants still pour over the border at a rate usually estimated to be more than a million per year, it’s not time to hoist the “mission accomplishedâ€