Obama’s Promise

November 10, 2008

The only word that can describe Barack Obama's election triumph is: Unbelievable! Just 150 years ago in the United States, instead of being a president, Obama could have been a slave. Fifty years ago in various states in the South, far from running for president, Obama wouldn't even have been able to vote.
It is still surprising that his victory, too, is an impressive and welcome alteration to the history of a country that for decades sanctioned slavery and that, even today, experiences racism and discrimination. Section II of Article I
of the U.S. Constitution defended the right to own slaves. And for a long time, the Census Office counted African Americans as three-fifths of a person.
This election represents great progress. It shows that a child born in a poor family, of a black immigrant father from Kenya and white American mother who would later die when he was still very young, and who was then brought up by his
maternal grandmother, can go far: get into Harvard, into the Senate and into the White House. This could rarely happen in any other country.
It is incredible that someone with the name Barack Hussein Obama was able to overcome the prejudice that swelled after Sept. 11, 2001 and, after defeating the formidable Clinton machinery in the primaries, wrested the presidency away from war hero John McCain.
The United States dared to tear down several myths in this past election. An African-American finally won the presidency. But two women -- Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin -- also came close to the White House. And a former soldier, 72-years-old, demonstrated that there is no age limit for governing.
This year of 2008 is the year that Americans broke race, gender and age barriers. All in one election. America's genius, Obama said in his victory speech, lies in its ability to change and in its faith in three ideas: liberty, opportunity and democracy.
Another great achievement in this election is that both Obama and McCain agreed they must do something for the 12 or 13 million undocumented immigrants here. If you noticed, the immigration issue was best noted for its absence in the debates, ads and interviews, since both candidates agreed on the need of integral immigration reform. This prevented frequent attacks on undocumented
immigrants who, in times of crisis like now, are unjustly blamed for the county's ills.
The time for promises has passed; Obama now has to think of how to fulfill them. There is one in particular I would like stress. "I cannot guarantee that (immigration reform) is going to be in the first hundred days. But what I can guarantee is that we will have in the first year an immigration bill," Obama told me in a May interview.
That's a very big promise. It could legalize, or in other words, convert millions of people illegally in the United States into American citizens. However, this will be no easy thing.
When I asked him if he would put an end to the raids and deportations, which are breaking up so many Hispanic families, he didn't want to make any promises. "That would be part of the review that I would want to do when I get into
office," he said. In other words, an Obama presidency does not necessarily mean an end to raids. In the Senate, Obama voted for the construction of a new, 700-mile wall along
the border with Mexico. Let it be clear, Obama will not open the southern border.
"We (have) got to have stronger border surveillance and security," he said, adding also: "We have to deal with employers who are actively recruiting undocumented workers to make sure they are abiding by U.S. law."
We must drop the idea that the immigration reform Obama promised us will consist solely of legalization. This very important element cannot be approved by Congress, even if it has an ample Democratic majority, if there isn't greater
control of the border and of hiring practices for the undocumented.
But there is more. Obama, unlike President George W. Bush's current policy, believes Mexico, in some way, should be included in the immigration discussion. "It's very important to reach out to the Mexican government to find out what do we need on the other side of the border to encourage economic development and job creation there. Because, as long as there is an economic magnet, and people can't succeed in supporting their families in Mexico, it is going to be almost
impossible for us over the long term, to deal with this immigration problem," he said, in another interview at the end of October.
Obama will have to face enormous challenges once he assumes the presidency,
and the question is whether he will fulfill his promise of achieving an immigration agreement in the first year. So I asked him about it. "I understand, you know," he responded, "and that is why I don't want to make a hundred-day promise."
When I spoke to Obama the first time, before the current financial crisis exploded, he said he would have five priorities during the first year of his administration: Iraq, medical insurance, energy, education and immigration. And now, who knows whether he'll increase his priorities to six in his first 365 days by including the economy, or whether he will simply drop immigration reform from his list of projects for the first year.
It is here, however, where we Hispanics need to exercise some pressure. Obama sought the Latino vote; he promised immigration reform in his first year, and a majority of the Hispanic community (67 percent) voted for him. Latinos came through. Now, it is Obama's turn.