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| Luis Ortega, WDAC Co-Founder |
Before President Obama had made the official announcement, the right, the left and everyone in between were already praising, condemning or confused by this new policy.
While there are many questions yet to be answered, particularly in respect to the implementation of this policy, the political consequences are already materializing.
Just yesterday, a Bloomberg poll reported that 64% of likely voters agreed with the new policy. Furthermore, the poll also found that 65% of independents also backed the policy change.
These are impressive numbers – and bad news for Republicans.
Republicans have struggled to respond to this proposal since they are trapped between alienating their conservative base and sending a negative signal to the Latino community and independent voters. Their only concrete response thus far has been to accuse President Obama of making this decision only for “political reasons.”
This is not only incorrect, but also a clear misunderstanding of President Obama’s record on the DREAM Act and immigration.
This decision did not happen overnight because of a sudden realization of how important is the Latino vote or inexplicable desire to support DREAMers. President Obama has a strong record of advocating for the DREAM Act and policies to provide relief for young immigrants.
In President Obama’s own words: “It’s the right thing to do, period.”
Now, Governor Mitt Romney, the presumed Republican presidential nominee is also on the record. Last January, at a town hall meeting in Iowa he promised to veto the DREAM Act. More recently, in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Governor Romney refused to directly answer whether he would overturn President Obama’s new policy.
Today, Governor Romney will have an opportunity to clarify his position on immigration when addressing the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), but for now it is clear that Republicans will continue to struggle with this issue.
It is also important to consider that President Obama’s new policy will not only provide relief for some young immigrants, but it also sets an unprecedented stage to build political support for passage of the DREAM Act in 2013. Republicans and Democrats alike will not be able to ignore the increasing political support for this much-awaited legislation.
This is why this policy is not only good, but politically brilliant.
Of course, the chances of the DREAM Act passing in 2013 will depend on the results of the general election and this includes the presidential race and the control of Congress.
Elections are about choices and when it comes to the DREAM Act the choice is clear. President Obama’s policy is not only the right thing to do, but it puts us on the right direction.
First we dream, but now is the time to move our country forward.