Did President Obama just break a campaign promise on illegal immigration?

[Adir Pykhtin]

The Washington Post isn't God, and Janet Napolitano is not Barack Obama; but a news story in the Washington Post today suggests that President Obama abandoned a promise made during the campaign, that is, to go after employers who hire workers who are illegal immigrants. It will be interesting to know if this allegation is accurate.

Washington Post, today:

President Obama will abandon a controversial immigration crackdown, sought by his predecessor, to pressure U.S. companies to fire 9 million workers with suspect Social Security numbers, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced yesterday.

Instead, Obama will mandate that federal contractors confirm the identities of 4 million workers against federal databases beginning in September, pushing ahead under pressure from Senate Republicans with another long-stalled Bush administration initiative.

Napolitano said her department will rescind a 2007 rule, tied up in federal court, that would have sent Social Security "no-match" letters to 140,000 U.S. employers. The notices were to warn companies to resolve discrepancies or fire suspect workers within 90 days, or face criminal penalties.

Instead, she said, the Department of Homeland Security will take a "more modern and effective" approach, ordering an estimated 170,000 federal contractors to confirm employees' work documents against E-Verify, until now a voluntary electronic government system for companies to check new hires' immigration and Social Security data.

Obama's promise had been described as follows in his website: "Will remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants."

All emphasis is mine.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/08/AR2009070800030.html
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/index_campaign.php

[sandnsea]

1. The plan is to stop attacking workers

and start making employers implement the technology and put the burden where it belongs.

Unless you enjoy seeing children put in foster care and their parents put into detention centers.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. No, this is exactly the opposite of what you're saying.

The program he's ending went after the immigrants. The one he's pushing goes after the employers. This is the very definition of him keeping his promise.

I suggest you self-delete.

On edit: You also incorrectly include your own language - the last line about promises - in the quote. This makes it look like the Washington Post is saying that he's breaking his promise when they do not say that. I don't think this was accidental on your part.

[mkultra]

3. promise kept and good for obama

I personally would love to see us open the boarders more. Import labor or export companies.

[Occam Bandage]

4. No, he's ending a worker-targeted program to focus on employer targeting, like he promised to do.

Dummy.

[masuki bance]

5. Obama is not capable of breaking campaign promises. nt

[damonm]

6. Wow - first day of unrecommend, and I've already done it twice...