By Maryam Rastegar
July 19, 2010

President Barack Obama called for “a practical, common'sense approach (to immigration reform) that reflects our heritage and our values,” labeling the current immigration system “broken and dangerous,” in a July 1 speech at American University in Washington (DC).

“Such an approach demands accountability from everybody – from government, from businesses and from individuals,” the President said. Government must secure our borders. Businesses must be held accountable if they knowingly hire or exploit undocumented workers. Those who are here illegally “must get right with the law before they can get in line and earn their citizenship.”

Reacting to the President’s speech, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Chair of the Conference of Mayors Comprehensive Immigration Task Force, welcomed the President’s call for quick action on comprehensive immigration reform. He commented that, “The President’s call …for bipartisan support for reform mirrors the various reforms proposed since 2009 by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and its Task Force on Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”

“Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing and special-interest wrangling – and to the pervasive sentiment in Washington that tackling such a thorny and emotional issue is inherently bad politics,” Obama said. He said that reform cannot be enacted without a bipartisan cooperation. “I’m ready to move forward; the majority of Democrats are ready to move forward; and I believe the majority of Americans are ready to move forward. But the fact is, without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem.”

During what was his first major address focusing solely on immigration, President Obama emphasized the economic, scientific, and technological contributions immigrants have made to the country. “This steady stream of hardworking and talented people has made America the engine of the global economy and a beacon of hope around the world,” he said.

At the same time, the President acknowledged the fear and frustration that people are feeling about the current system. He commented that, “Our borders are porous,” and the country does a poor job of tracking people who enter the country legally, resulting in 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the country. And because these individuals are in the country illegally, crimes tend to go unreported because witnesses and victims fear coming forward, making “it harder for the police to catch violent criminals and keep neighborhoods safe.”

Commenting on this specific issue, Gordon said, “Here, at Ground Zero of this crisis, our cities and towns have suffered disproportionately because of America’s failure to repair a system we all agree is broken. For too long, we’ve born the costs of these unaddressed problems, costs we’ve paid for financially, psychologically and in human terms.”

President Obama also discussed the problems associated with businesses who hire undocumented workers as well as Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, which, among other things, requires immigrants to carry their registration document forms at all times and the police to question individuals who they suspect are in the country illegally.

Although he called the borders porous, the President said that currently, “We have more boots on the ground near the Southwest border than at any time in our history,” and that, “The southern border is more secure today than at any time in the past 20 years.” Despite these efforts, he said, there is much more work to be done.

The President commented that many in the immigrant rights’ community argue passionately that the US should provide those who are here illegally with legal status, but cautioned that doing so would lead to a surge in illegal immigration. ”Such an indiscriminate approach would be both unwise and unfair,” he said. “It would suggest to those thinking about coming here illegally that there will be no repercussions for such a decision.”