President Barack Obama will highlight the improving economy and low unemployment rate in his State of the Union address Tuesday.
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is likely to sidestep the thorny topic of immigration reform during his State of The Union address Tuesday night in favor of issues such as inequality, experts predict.
After the House voted to overturn the president’s executive action allowing more than 5 million undocumented immigrants to stay and work in the U.S., policy observers predict Obama will probably focus on issues more relatable to the general public.
“Three hundred million people are watching the State of the Union,” said Marshall Fitz, vice president of immigration policy at progressive research group Center for American Progress. “Immigration isn’t something that will reach out to everyone.”
Audrey Singer agreed. The senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, an independent think tank, cited the president’s “robust agenda” as a reason why he might be more muted on the issue.
“He has so much more to talk about tonight – inequality, for instance, is something that everyone’s been discussing.”
This could mark the second year that the president has been reticent on the issue during the State of the Union address. “If we are serious about economic growth, it is time to… fix our broken immigration system,” Obama said in his single reference to immigration in last year’s address.
Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of immigration policy at non-partisan think tank Migration Policy Institute, cautioned against seeing the president’s continued reticence as a trend. “Last year, he was simply waiting for Congress in the way he wanted to,” he said. “This year, he is more likely to highlight what he’s already done but focus on other issues.”
In 2012, Obama implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that allowed some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as minors to evade deportation. In November, he increased the number of immigrants eligible for the program and allowed some parents of legal residents and citizens to stay and work in the U.S.
The November executive action divided the nation as well as Congress. According to a December Pew Research survey, half of respondents disapproved compared to 46 percent who were in support.
However, an overture to immigration reform could draw support from both Hispanics and Asians. The two fastest-growing ethnic groups in the U.S. are poised to influence the 2016 presidential elections. Census Bureau data in July 2013 estimated the U.S. Hispanic population at 54 million and the Asian population at 19.4 million.
The largest number of unauthorized immigrants since 1995 have come from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Honduras, China and the Philippines.
Immigration advocates are expecting the president to address the issue.
“When Obama speaks to the nation, he must demonstrate to us that immigrant families are still a top priority,” said Kica Matos, spokeswoman for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement in a statement.
Clarissa Martinez, deputy vice president of Hispanic civil rights group National Council of La Raza added, “We’re expecting a reiteration of what he has been doing on the issue and a call to Congress for a legislative solution.”
There are signs that immigration reform will be mentioned during the address, even if it is not a major talking point. Three guests to the First Lady’s Box are immigrants – sea level rise researcher Nicole Hernandez Hammer, DREAMer Ana Zamora and United States Digital Service computer scientist Kathy Pham.
Fitz said that the president’s pro-immigration stance since he took office has already helped attract support from this key demographic, and that the president’s executive action has already spoken for itself.
Singer also observed that the president will still be able to gain support from Hispanics and Asians through his address anyway even without discussing immigration in detail.
“The Democrats know that their future lies in the hands of this diverse and younger population,” Singer said. “The issues he’s likely to cover like inequality, education and broadband internet will resonate with them.”
