President Obama appears to be laying the foundations for taking executive action to defer the prosecution of millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States, if an off-the-cuff remark made in his Labor Day address is anything to go by.
Delivering the annual address on Monday in Milwaukee, Obama’s fiery speech showed for perhaps the first time just how much he supports the rights of undocumented immigrants in the country. “Hope is what gives us courage; hope is what gave soldiers courage to storm a beach,” Obama declared. “Hope is what gives young people the strength to march for women’s rights and workers’ rights and civil rights and voting rights and gay rights and immigration rights.”
The president has often commented on civil principles in his speeches; however, this is the first time that he has included immigration rights. The remark appeared to be delivered in an off-the-cuff manner rather than as part of a rehearsed statement and is the latest indication that Obama is laying the foundations for using his executive authority to defer prosecution for the innumerable undocumented immigrants illegally living in the United States.
Obama also took the opportunity to criticize the Republican Party for its blocking of attempts to increase the minimum wage. He also encouraged more ordinary people to join unions, saying that all he was after was “a good deal for American workers”.