Obama stays silent about immigration at OFA rally

11:11 AM 02/26/2014
Neil Munro
The Daily Caller

http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-cont...2754167620.jpg

In a speech to his community organizing group Tuesday night, President Obama didn’t mention immigration reform a single time.

The president gave two speeches to Organizing for Action last night, and didn’t use the I-word even once. Instead, he urged his supporters to push for a minimum wage, and to get more sign-ups for his Obamacare network.

Similarly, OFA sent out 20 messages to this reporter in February, but only one mentioned immigration. In contrast, OFA sent out six immigration-related messages in January, nine in December, two in November and six in October.

Obama used his Tuesday speeches to talk about economics and health. “We’ve got folks at the very top doing better than ever, and working-class families, middle-class families, folks struggling to get into the middle class have continued to have to work harder and harder and harder just to get by,” he told his supporters.

“Our generational task is to reverse those trends and get back to a point where our economy is growing in a broad-based way, an economy in which everybody feels the benefits… that’s what we’re fighting for,” he declared.

Independent polls show the public wants the government to focus on the economy, not immigration.

Gallup reported Jan. 31 that “immigration is a relatively low-priority issue for Americans… Three percent name immigration as the most important problem facing the nation.”

“Thirty-eight percent of Americans are satisfied with the level of immigration into the U.S., and 54% are dissatisfied [and] most of those who are dissatisfied want to see immigration levels decreased,” said Gallup.

Very few Americans want to see more foreign workers coming into the United States. For example, the Senate immigration bill, passed last June offered an amnesty to at least 10 million illegals, and would double the annual inflow of immigrants and guest workers. The doubling would greatly increase the labor supply by giving work permits to two immigrants and a guest worker for every four Americans who turn 18.

A February poll by NumbersUSA — an immigration reform group that wants lower levels of immigration — asked 1,000 likely voters if companies should raise wages or import foreign workers when they’re having trouble finding Americans to fill a job. Only 12 percent of conservatives, 13 percent of moderates, 11 percent of women, 12 percent of Democrats and 9 percent of African-Americans OK’d the importation of foreign workers, according to a copy of the poll provided to The Daily Caller.

Seventeen percent of liberals, and 16 percent of college grads OK’d the inflow, said the poll, which assumed that GOP voters were only 30 percent of the population.

The traditional alternative of raised pay was backed by 75 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of liberals and 67 percent of Republicans and moderates.

So far, the House GOP leadership has resisted pressure from Obama and his business allies to push an immigration bill through the House.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/26/ob...-at-ofa-rally/