January 17, 2019: Similar speeches * Letter to the Editor * OPINION * Del Rio News-Herald

Letter to the Editor,

Similar speeches

The following are excerpts from speeches given by two presidents on border security and immigration reform.

President Obama gave his speech on June 30, 2014 in the Rose Garden and President Trump gave his speech on January 8, 2019 in the Oval Office.

President Obama stated then, “We now have an actual humanitarian crisis on the border that only underscores the need to drop the politics and fix our immigration system once and for all. In recent weeks, we’ve seen a surge of unaccompanied children arrive at the border, brought here by smugglers and traffickers. The journey is unbelievably dangerous for these kids. The children who are fortunate enough to survive it will be taken care of while they go through the legal process, but in most cases that process will lead to them being sent back home.”

President Trump stated now, “There is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. A crisis of the heart, and a crisis of the soul. Last month, 20,000 migrant children were illegally brought into the United States, a dramatic increase. These children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs. Woman and children are the biggest victims, by far, of our broken system. ”

President Obama exhorted Congress then, “Today, I sent a letter to congressional leaders asking that they work with me to address the urgent humanitarian challenge on the border, and support the Immigration and Border Patrol agents who already apprehend and deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants every year. But the problem is that our system is broken.”

President Trump urged Congress now, “Every day, Customs and Border Protection agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country. My administration has presented Congress with a detailed proposal to secure the border”.

Both speeches sound similarly the same, since nothing has changed, except one was from a Democratic President and the other is from a Republican President. The situation of border security and immigration reform has remained at a stalemate.

Marian Casillas, Ed.D.

Del Rio, Texas