Activists: We Want An Emancipator, Not A ‘Deporter In Chief’

*Here’s what’s new: President Obama has told immigration activists – who had turned their pressure tactics on the White House – to continue pressuring Congress to pass immigration reform for the next three months. If by the August recess congress has done nothing, he’ll step in. The activists’ options? Believe the President, or hedge their bets and keep the heat on Obama. VL

By Richard Gonza;ez, Code Switch/NPR

Activists who support an overhaul of the immigration system are angry and frustrated. The immigration bill that passed in the Senate in June is stalled out. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is on pace to deport some 2 million illegal immigrants since taking office six years ago.

Some activists got a chance to make their case directly to the president at the White House in a recent off-the-record meeting. They described how the deportations are hurting their communities.

Obama told the activists they should keep their focus on Congress to pass immigration legislation over the next three months, Sharry says.

“And if at the end of three months or so, if Congress hasn’t acted, then he made it clear that he would be prepared to see what he could do through executive action,” he says.

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