Second Grader to Michelle Obama: "My Mom Doesn't Have Any Papers" (Video)

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Democrats and Republicans continue to trade barbs over the Arizona's new, controversial immigration law and federal reform efforts, but First Lady Michelle Obama today saw the personal side of the debate, from the perspective of a child.

Obama today traveled with Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala to the New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where a second-grade girl asked her about how immigration reform would impact her family.

"My mom... she says that Barack Obama is taking everybody away that doesn't have papers," the girl said, sitting cross-legged on the gymnasium floor with her classmates, while Obama sat in a folding chair next to them. A large blue banner hanging behind them, adorned with the American and Mexican flags, read, "Welcome, Mrs. Obama! Bienvenidos, Sra. Zavala!"

"Yeah, well that's something that we have to work on, right?" Obama said. "To make sure that people can be here with the right kind of papers, right? That's exactly right."

The little girl continued, "But my mom doesn't have any papers."

Obama replied, "Well, we have to work on that. We have to fix that, and everybody's got to work together in Congress to make sure that happens."

President Obama today said he agreed with Mexican President Felipe Calderon that the Arizona law, which makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally, could be applied in a discriminatory fashion.

He called it a "misdirected expression of frustration over our broken immigration system."

He said that he is "sympathetic" to the frustrations of Americans growing impatient with the federal government's failure to address immigration reform. He said he supports a plan that includes creating an orderly border, making sure businesses are following the rules and not "actively recruiting undocumented workers" in order to skirt laws and protections, and making sure there is accountability for those living in the United States illegally.

[digirati1]

Quit making this a racial issue. I have Hispanic family and Im as white as you can get. And they are fed up with the neglect of the President of the US to deal with this issue. We owe more money than ever before, th United States of America is no longer number one in education and other areas as well. This is an issue of NOT following or enforcing the LAW. I believe there are some great hispanic people and I have nothing against them becoming U.S. Citizens. But stop the sympathy card. Enforce the Law, let them apply for citizen ship, so we can put them on the books. We are America, made up of multiple nationalites. HOw can you say this is RACIAL ? Our laws are falling to the wayside, our borders are open and we have a President that we cant trust. He isnt looking out for the American people, he is looking out for Mexico and Illegal Aliens. FOLLOW the LAW, thats why its there!!!!!! And the making people buy health care....well thats just taking our freedome away. I want him out of office.

[pleazzer]

RATSTRA- If you would read what people are writing you will see this is not a RACE issue. Illegal is Illegal. This has nothing to do with race other than the fact MOST illegal aliens are Latino. So get off your outragous high horse and stop playing the RACE CARD like they are all doing.

[ratstra]

OMG, would all of the people crying, "Outrage! Kick them all back across the border!" examine THEIR OWN BLOODLINES??? Who was here before the colonies? NATIVE AMERICANS. That makes us ALL IMMIGRANTS!!!
Before you all are cruel to someone else and their family, THINK ABOUT WHO YOU ARE, FIRST, AND WHERE YOU CAME FROM. How dare you all be that thoughtless, foolish, forgetful, and unkind. You should be ASHAMED of yourselves. Most stories are not so simply black and white. And if you think that they all should be, and that yours is squeaky-clean, then it will be your own behinds hitting the fan for something that isn't so simple that YOU ARE FORGETTING ABOUT IN YOUR OWN LIFE that isn't so simple and so easy to solve with one move.
True People, true - no one else's life is any different than yours, it's only in the details, and it's the details that no one ever remembers across time - it's how one treats another, for good or for nill, that is remembered and recorded.
I applaud Michelle for trying to put in simple terms a big issue to someone so small, and desperately hope that the multi-cultural- resistant people in congress get crackin' and make this whole system work FOR ALL of humanity, not just AGAINST SOME, because they have the "misfortune" of being born with less and are using whatever brains they've got to make things better for themselves and their families.
THAT PHILOSOPHY IS WHAT THIS CURRENT COUNTRY IS BUILT ON, FOR PITY'S SAKE!!!!!!!!!
How can you all so conveniently forget that?
What is good for you is not important for them?
How DARE you.
How wholely, damagingly, and completely SELFISH.
If it were you you'd be singin' a different tune, and maybe, just maybe, it will be YOU tomorrow who's figuring this out the hard way, and boy, will you hate it when you are treated this way by someone else who thinks this way, just like you used to.

[rue777]

RATSTRA - Im Native and I'd like you to go ahead and act on your own words and leave. I agree with people posting that illegal is just that - illegal!! Stop using my people as a crutch for your silly notions dating back to the 1800's.

[jayjay4142]

I for one hope other States follow AZ. law. The federal government won't do anything about the problem. Why should they be allowed to come here illegally while otheres have to work to get citizenship. The least they could do is work for a living instead of drawing welfare. Sorry her Mother doesn't have papers, she probably came here illegally and produced several anchor babies. Check any welfare office in any state and you will find them in droves.

[pleazzer]

I am sure most of us feel sorry for the little girl and what she must be going thru. But it was not any of US that asked her parents to COME TO THE USA ILLEGALLY, STAY HERE ILLEGALLY, START A FAMILY HERE WHILE HERE ILLEGALLY. So her parents should maybe think before they act. Maybe they should have considered they were breaking the laws of another country before they bumped nasties and had kids. Maybe they should also consider that using having a child for citizenship might not be a good idea. It was their disrespect for OUR laws and OUR Country that now and always did consider them LAW BREAKERS. Why should we even consider Rewarding a Law Breaker? I do not give a rats behind if they pull the RACE CARD. It is not about RACE but go ahead and use it. ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL, go home and fix your country instead of coming to ours trying to drag it drag it down. If you did not have the self respect to care enough about your country why would I even think you would have changed, just because YOU BROKE THE LAWS in my Country, to even care about mine?

You can take ObUma with you too as he seems to agree with your President and his lies he told Congress in his speech. I hope we will be sending you ALL the CONGRESSMAN/WOMEN that chose to give him a STANDING OVATION as to me it is/was a form of TREASION.

[karla_isela]

I do believe in the law; it exists for a reason, but the majority never really consider what the minority does for us or how much they help this country. FYI, in countries like Mexico there are a lot of problems, especially with The Cartels, and in the end it's really the United States people who need the drugs and the quick high. I was born in Costa Rica and when I was younger there was very little worry about crime and drugs in my small town, but now it's everywhere. Even Costa Rica has problems with illegals from Nicaragua, Columbia, and other Latin American countries. The U.S. people act so victimized, when in the end they want nice shoes, nice clothes, good food on their table. Who makes those shoes, that shirt, and who picks those fruit? Certainly not mommy or daddy who work all day as a blue-collar worker, businessman, or doctor. What your average American forgets is that there are others outside of their world (that revolves solely around them), and these "others" are the reason there is food in this country like rice, coffee, fruits (that aren't grown in some science lab or Hawaii). Where does all the clothes in the mall come from? There are very little companies now-a-days that manufactures anything inside the U.S. The American people are naturally selfish and greedy; all they ever have to worry about is a career, money, sex, entertainment, and having a nice car and house to show off. Don't misunderstand, I know people that slave away in a factory, but even these people are forgotten about. The minority slaves away while the majority takes full advantage of it. There is no appreciation from people. First they want a mountain of profit, so they need cheap labor, and then they *****, because in the U.S. there is something called MINIMUM WAGE, and then all the jobs go overseas where there is no such thing as minimum pay. Do you see the corruption in the system. The people from these countries (and I'm only speaking for those that I know work hard everyday to put food on the table) are only victims!! New York City streets are paved with as much gold as they were back in the day when Europeans and everyone else immigrated to America. If you really want things to change, we must all work together to stop the corruption, but I don't see that happening, because there is too much selfishness, egotism, and greed in this country.

Just to let people out there know that the majority of businessmen/women and politicians have Antisocial personality disorder. The very same disorder that serial killers have. Isn't it nice to know that our country and business are being run by people with the same qualities as a serial killer? :)

[htdgman]

It has been said many times in different news stories that if you knowingly standby as crime is being commited and fail to intervene then you are as guilty as the criminal. Why is there not a federal agent at the suspected illegal violator of our border's house as I type, protecting us from these invaders of my country? Perhaps the child was inaccurate who knows not I. Why not investigate just to be safe? or is safety for we the people last on the to do list? Parties and fund raising seems to be high on the list. These people are criminals in the process of depleting american resources.I thought the president and all the soldiers and all the law enforcement took oaths to protect and defend the people of this country from all enemies foreign and domestic. Looks like Arizona is leading the way doing their part how bout the congress and the president getting on board? It is time that our leaders get with the program and perform their duties or just resign if they can't do the job some one else can.

[barbaram99]

The children of illegals are subjuct to what ever law of their parents nations..I am just a lay person. I read that the American Indians did not have US citzenship till 1924 by this nation..The anchor baby law 1965..I looked it up..

[wlhoppers]

My parents came from England and Canada - they entered the country legally, carried their green cards and eventually became legalized citizens. It was important to them to show they respected our system. They believed, as I do, that all immigrants are welcome here, as long as they enter the country legally.

Arizona's Governor is doing what the federal government has failed to do for years. She's upholding the law. So why aren't we listening to her on a broader basis, instead of that I-don't-know-what-I-wanna-be, but-I-wanna-be-something fool Palin? As for Obama, he seems like a nice guy to have a beer with, but he's completely disconnected from the reality of the average American. He just really has no clue and not even a decent box of band-aid fixes.

[bobnjersey]

[As for Obama, he seems like a nice guy to have a beer with, but he's completely disconnected from the reality of the average American. He just really has no clue and not even a decent box of band-aid fixes. ]

no clue? you're ranting about laws that aren't being enforced ... he's completely disconnected from average americans?

why do you suppose this is this way ... with the laws not being enforced?

how long has it been this way ... with the laws not being enforced?

who do you suppose wants it this way?

who defines policy in this country?

look around and limit your view to only the last few months ... and tell me who is being represented in washington ... via the laws and regulations that are put in place.

it is you ... 'an average american' ... or is it someone else?

what exactly is mr. obama to do to change this?

what would you be doing to fix this if you were in his shoes?

[TVO1CITW]

A century ago President Teddy Roosevelt put it this way. He said:

?In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person?s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American?There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn?t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag? We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language ? and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.?

That is how we have built one great nation from the people of all the nations of the world.

[usconstitution1]

ECONOMIC STIMULUS - FDIC MAKING SURE ALL WAMU SHAREHOLDERS GET THEIR MONEY!! STOCK SWAP, etc? THAT?S CALLED A STIMULUS!! NOT LETTING THE RICH CEOS HAVE THE MONEY?WHILE THE REST OF THE ECONOMY/PEOPLE, etc?SUFFER!! I WILL NEVER BANK WITH CHASE UNLESS THERE IS A STOCK SWAP OR WAMU JUSTICE! A BANK OF THAT MAGNITUDE IS WORTH MORE THAN 1.6 BILLION ASK MY NEURO-SURGEON IF YOU NEED HELP!! MY BROTHERS FRIENDS ARE BILLIONAIRES!! 3.875 COLLEGE GPA, GRADUATE SCHOOL, etc? I JUST DIDN?T STUDY SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN COLLEGE!! FDIC ECONOMIC STIMULUS ARE MAKING SURE ALL WAMU SHAREHOLDERS GET THEIR MONEY!! COLLEGE, RETIREMENTS, DOWN PAYMENT ON HOME, ITS PAYING OFF LENDERS, PAYING UNCLE SAM --THOSE TAXES, etc?

what the sam hill are you talking about? and turn off the caps lock! my lord you are annoying. and stop repeating whatever junk you hear on the tubes... we read it too and don't need it regurgitated by some whacko hiding in the sticks.

[bobnjersey]

[I JUST DIDN?T STUDY SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN COLLEGE!! ]

apparently you should have.