Responding to Obama’s new position on immigration

Written by

Reaction has been swift to President Obama’s immigration announcement that young immigrants will no longer face deportation. Speaking earlier today in the Rose Garden, the president said “this is not a path to citizenship, it’s not a permanent fix,” about his decision to stop the deportation of young immigrants.  (Here’s the transcript of his remarks, and here’s what’s happening on Twitter).

KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis provides this roundup of responses from around the Southland, including immigrant-rights activists, state Republican leaders, and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

KCRW talked to Sonic Trace teen reporter, Luis Carlos to get his response. He is undocumented. He said:

I am very excited that Obama is acknowledging people like me. I arrived when I was 10 months old, and I’ve only been to Mexico once. I can’t travel outside of the country. I can’t even have a license to drive across the city. I am so happy to not live in fear of being deported.

CHIRLA Director of Communications Jorge-Mario Cabrera said:

I don’t know if this is necessarily a down payment on the concern we’ve had all along  which is immigration laws in this country are broken, but it it certainly the right step.

KCRW talked to two undocumented students to get their reaction. They both said that this announcement had the potential to be life-changing. Listen below:

Estafania says "It's still a little bit unreal." Photo credit: Raphael Gonzalez (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Miguel says "I'm excited, hopeful, looking forward to more action." Photo credit: Raphael Gonzalez (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Warren Olney talked to Politico.com Senior Editor David Mark, CHIRLA Director of Communications Jorge-Mario Cabrera, and Claremont Graduate University Professor of Education William Perez about the impact of today’s announced changes to U.S. immigration policy.