Barack Obama Immigration Reform Interview

was posted on the Immigration Prof Blog.

The questions to Obama were asked by Jennifer Chacón, Bill Hing, and Kevin Johnson, who have served as members of an Immigration Policy Group for the Obama campaign. In spite of the fact that the are connected to the campaign, they did ask tough questions and the answers were very enlightening.

When Obama was asked what he would you do as President on the difficult issue of immigration reform he responded that:

"We need comprehensive immigration reform that creates a system that is fair, consistent, compassionate, and emphasizes both maintaining the rule of law and the security of our borders while working to keep families together and putting the undocumented on an earned path to citizenship. "

In other highlights of the interview  Obama stated that:

1.  He would not stop pushing Congress to  pass comprehensive reform this year.

2.  He fought and will fight to keep a greater emphasis on keeping immigrant families together and  against the point system.

3.  He would make the borders more secure while discouraging immigrants from crossing the desert illegally.

4.  He would set up a simple mandatory electronic system that enables employers to verify the legal status of the people they hire.

5.  That the immigration debate is distracting the Congress from having the time and energy to deal with health care, education, and other important issues.

6.  We need to act urgently to create a fair immigration system.

7.  He is committed to fighting for comprehensive immigration reform during his first term as president and to passing the DREAM Act.

8.  Obama thinks that local ordinances against undocumented immigrants are unconstitutional and that immigration is a national problem that requires a national solution.

Overall, I thought his answers were excellent, in light of the political realities. Some of his enforcement and border control positions were a bit severe, but he claims that in order to get enough support for comprehensive immigration reform, we need to get some control of the border and undocumented employment. That makes sense.

You can go to Obama's website for more on his positions on Immigration.

The interviewers have contacted several other 2008 Presidential candidates and they are hoping to get answers to the same questions that were answered by Obama. I hope we can hear soon from the other Democrats, especially from Hillary and Edwards.

The issue of immigration reform is VERY important for our nation and for millions of Americans it's OVERWHELMINGLY important.

I am undecided as to who I'll vote for in the Primary, but after reading this interview, I'm more likely to vote for Obama than before.

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UPDATE
Dan Kowalski of Bender's Immigration Bulletin Commented today on Immigration Prof Blog about the Obama Interview:

When he heard about the interview he had been expecting a video, or a live audio interview, instead of a canned, written product.

He also had problems with Obama's rationale for voting for the Secure Fence Act and didn't think the Elvira Arrellano question was the best story to use since there are so many better examples of victims of the immigration system who have done nothing wrong except for being out of status.