Inconvenient clip of Obama defending deportations goes viral

An inconvenient clip of Barack Obama warning about the dangers of halting deportations has emerged.

The post has amassed over 30 million views and shows a portion of Obama’s comments on “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” from 2010.

“There are those in the immigrants’ rights community who have argued, passionately, that we should simply provide those who are [here] illegally with legal status or at least ignore the laws on the books and put an end to deportation until we have better laws,” Obama said.

“And often this argument is framed in moral terms: Why should we punish people who are just trying to earn a living?”

“I recognize the sense of compassion that drives this argument, but I believe such an indiscriminate approach would be both unwise and unfair,” Obama continued.

“It would suggest to those thinking about coming here illegally that there will be no repercussions for such a decision, and this could lead to a surge in more illegal immigration. And it would also ignore the millions of people around the world who are waiting in line to come here legally.”

“Ultimately, our nation, like all nations, has the right and obligation to control its borders and set laws for residency and citizenship,” Obama said. “And no matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these laws should be held accountable.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The now-viral clip was shared by X user MAZE, who said, “Obama shoots down the whole “stop deportations and just let the illegal immigrants be” argument that the Democratic party is currently pushing.”

Elon Musk caught hold of the clip and simply responded: “What he said.”

Plenty of X users agreed:

ADVERTISEMENT

Sadly, it seems only the “right” cares about truth and consistency.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles