Responding to Obama’s new position on immigration

Reaction has been swift to President Obama’s immigration announcement that young immigrants will no longer face deportation. Speaking earlier today in the Rose Garden, the president said “this is not a path to citizenship, it’s not a permanent fix,” about his decision to stop the deportation of young immigrants. (Here’s the transcript of his remarks, and here’s what’s happening on Twitter).

KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis provides this roundup of responses from around the Southland, including immigrant-rights activists, state Republican leaders, and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

KCRW talked to Sonic Trace teen reporter, Luis Carlos to get his response. He is undocumented. He said:

I am very excited that Obama is acknowledging people like me. I arrived when I was 10 months old, and I’ve only been to Mexico once. I can’t travel outside of the country. I can’t even have a license to drive across the city. I am so happy to not live in fear of being deported.

CHIRLA Director of Communications Jorge-Mario Cabrera said:

I don’t know if this is necessarily a down payment on the concern we’ve had all along which is immigration laws in this country are broken, but it it certainly the right step.

KCRW talked to two undocumented students to get their reaction. They both said that this announcement had the potential to be life-changing. Listen below:

Warren Olney talked to Politico.com Senior Editor David Mark, CHIRLA Director of Communications Jorge-Mario Cabrera, and Claremont Graduate University Professor of Education William Perez about the impact of today’s announced changes to U.S. immigration policy.