OUR VIEW: Checkmate, Mr. President

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OUR VIEW

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President Obama recently made a nice play in the chess match that is the 2012 presidential campaign.

Obama last week declared that the United States shall suspend deportations of illegal immigrants brought to this country as children.

The directive was given to the Office of Homeland Security and forbids the federal government from initiating the deportation of illegal immigrants younger than 30 who came to America before the age of 16; who have lived in the country for at least five years; who have no criminal record; and are in school or are military veterans.

The move was celebrated by many in the United States — one poll said 67 percent of respondents are in favor of the decision — and comes just as election season hits full swing.

It also has left Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney, in a tough spot.

We feel strongly about stabilizing immigration in the United States. We also feel strongly that illegal immigrants should be treated as just that — illegal.

Is Obama’s recent directive really that offensive? No. The people who have been granted amnesty generally are here through no real fault of their own. And according to various reports, Republicans were working on a similar plan of their own.

Yet we still feel that not enough is being done to stymie the flood of illegal immigrants that cross our borders each year. If anything, we would have preferred the amnesty directive be coupled with a strong plan to fix the larger immigration problem. Romney is the likelier of the two to suggest such a thing, but he may not do it now.

It seems Obama’s move was timed perfectly to cultivate his standing among Hispanics, whose voting power is growing.

Romney is trapped. If he hopes to stay in favor with Hispanic voters, how can he respond?

Tags: election 2012, opinion, updates, editorials, immigration, obama, national