Obama’s action quite welcome

In response to the letter, “Obama makes mockery of law”: I say, with regard to President Obama’s decision to act on the immigration debacle, “It’s about time!” I am so tired of watching our so-called leaders use immigration reform as a political football as if their failure to act was not causing immeasurable pain to real families and many young Americans whose parents through no fault of theirs, remain undocumented.

I agree with the writer that the process to gain citizenship in this country is ridiculously difficult, and I appreciate that his wife roughed it out and followed that convoluted legal process, but let’s not argue about apples vs. oranges.

The people who risk their lives to cross our southern border from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras, do so to survive, to escape unimaginable poverty, slavery and gang violence. They risk it all to give their children a shot at a better, safer life with a hopeful future. And the elephant in the room, the social justice debacle rarely mentioned, never mind discussed on our corporate-owned media is that American interference in Central America’s governments, along with American trade policy effects in Mexico, has contributed hugely to their misery.

So you’ll forgive me if I very much appreciate Barack Obama’s decision to finally shed the label of “Deporter in Chief” and use his legal power to do what George W. Bush tried unsuccessfully to do when he was my president even though I certainly did not vote for him.

Charlene N. Rawson

Everett