Ed. Note: President Obama penned an op-ed explaining his decision to do what he can to fix our broken immigration system. This post originally appeared in Gannett newspapers and websites. You can learn more about the President's new steps here.
Audience members react as President Barack Obama delivers remarks on immigration at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Nev.
November 21, 2014.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
We are a nation of immigrants.
For more than 200 years, that heritage has given America a big advantage over other countries. It has kept us young, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. But today, our immigration system is broken.
When I took office, I committed to fixing our broken immigration system. I began by doing what I could to secure our borders. Today, we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at any time in our history. Over the past six years, illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half. Although this summer, there was a brief spike in unaccompanied children being apprehended at our border, the number of such children is now actually lower than it's been in nearly two years. Overall, the number of people trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest level since the 1970s.
Fonte: White House