As we welcomed in 2014, we faced the familiar situation of what it means to start the New Year: new beginnings, new agendas, and those pesky New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps for the Immigration Reform advocates and their allied hopefuls, this year will be the year for Immigration Reform.
President Obama, during his January 28, 2014, State of the Union address, focused on the topic of Immigration Reform and urged the country for the sake of “economic growth” to “....get Immigration Reform done this year.” The President encouraged leaders across party lines to work together to complete the long-overdue discussions to facilitate Immigration Reform.
In an article by the Wall Street Journal: Washington Wire, “State of the Union: Immigration Airtime Over Obama’s Presidency,” the author analyzed how many words per year were dedicated to Immigration in the State of the Union address. In 2009, Immigration was not even mentioned in the State of the Union address. Gradually, through the subsequent years, Immigration has pushed its way into the headlines and into our living rooms during the President’s State of the Union address. (39 words dedicated to Immigration in 2010, 97 words in 2011, 110 words in 2012, and 250 words in 2013).
Will President Obama’s increased word count and devotion to Immigration Reform in this year’s State of the Union be the push our nation needs to fulfill this resolution that has been a long time in the making?
Read the full text of the January 28, 2014, State of the Union Address.
