Obama disappoints Chicago protesters

In Chicago, Latino protestors rallied outside President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign headquarters Tuesday, asking him to use his powers as President to end enforcement of a controversial immigration law. The protestors want to see Obama end the Secure Communities Program which they say empowers police to act as immigration enforcers, and is resulting in the large-scale deportation of undocumented people who have not been convicted of significant criminal offenses--or any crime at all. 

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - The law is controversial; it's original intent, as protestors argue, was to permit authorities to order the deportation of criminals who were not legal residents of the United States.

However, statistics show that more than half the people deported are not convicts, but simply people who have been arrested without documents. Obama has promised to address the issue, but activists are concerned he's making campaign-year promises without doing anything definitive. "Our president must understand we are tired of being told sweet words, promises. We want action," said Oscar Chacon of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, one of the organizers of the protest.
 
President Obama has gone on record saying he supports comprehensive immigration reform, and has promoted a plan that would allow some of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to remain in the country provided they become citizens in good standing and pay a fine. Congressional Republicans have opposed this plan and are arguing for tougher enforcement measures.
 
The protest drew about 70 participants who want the President to exercise his executive authority to end enforcement of the program. "Obama has the decision-making power to bring the program to an end," said Chacon.
 
Obama did not address the protestors on Tuesday, and he is not expected to make any changes to the program at this time. However with elections coming and millions of Latino votes up for grabs, the issue is certain to be addressed before long.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'