Mexican President Felipe Calderon is presently on a state visit to the White House. Today in a joint press appearance he and President Obama focused on issues about immigration in general and about the passage of Arizona SB1070 in particular.
Obama and Calderón Decry Ariz. Immigration Law
President Obama joined with the visiting president of Mexico on Wednesday to denounce the new Arizona law aimed at stopping illegal immigrants, and to defend his administration’s record on securing United States-Mexico border.
Speaking to reporters in the Rose Garden, Mr. Obama called the new law "a misdirected expression of frustration over our broken immigration system" and said his government "has devoted unprecedented resources" to stanching the illegal flow of people into the country.
"I want everyone, American and Mexican, to know my administration is taking a very close look at the Arizona law," he said. "We’re examining any implications, especially for civil rights, because in the United States of America, no law-abiding person, be they an American citizen, a legal immigrant, or a visitor or tourist from Mexico, should ever be subject to suspicion simply because of what they look like."
While "respectful of the internal policies of the United States," Mr. Calderón said, "we will retain our firm rejection to criminalize migration so that people that work and provide things to this nation will be treated as criminals. And we oppose firmly the SB-1070 Arizona law, given unfair principles that are partial and discriminatory."
Obama made a call to congress to pass immigration reform legislation. By most accounts this legislation is considered dead for the remainder of this congress.
So, does all this actually mean anything more than a symbolic gesture? I think that maybe it might. Obama's continuing to say that the law carries serious risk of racial discrimination is significant. There have been opinion polls showing the possibility of an alarming level of support for similar laws in other states. A public stand by the president against it in such clear terms is worthwhile.
Obama also made reference to the review of the matter being conducted by the Dept. of Justice and promised that this review would soon be made public. The president can't force congress to do something that it is afraid to do in an election year. However, the DOJ does not operate under the same constraints. They have the legal authority to take the matter to court.
It will be interesting to see what Obama and his administration actually do about the immigration situation. It is clearly not an issue that is going to float gently off the radar screen. It is being actively exploited for political purposes by the Teabaggers and their ilk.