Sadly, given Obama’s history of taking an all-talk-and-no-action approach to comprehensive immigration reform, his actions will likely end here — proving that he just needed one big press conference to wave in front of Latinos before the November election. Unless he is willing to apply these same standards for deferred action and work permits to the illegal parents of U.S. citizens and willing to grant eligibility for green cards to those who have qualified under Temporary Protective Status (TPS), which he can do unilaterally using the same standards as he did on this move, there is little reason to believe that this is anything more than an effort to use millions of human beings as campaign props.
Now is the time for Latino voters to debate whether President Obama deserves our continued support in November. One has to wonder what he is more committed to: securing his re-election or keeping the promises he made to the Latino community to address one of the most important issues affecting our nation.
Robert G. de Posada is the founder and former president of The Latino Coalition and the president of Latinos for Reform.
