In the past few weeks, people from all over the country have written in to the White House to share the stories of how their families came to America. Each one we read is a reminder that many of us share a similar experience. That’s certainly true for my own family — my parents came as newlyweds from Bolivia. These are narratives that Washington needs to hear as this town debates the right way to reform our broken immigration system.
At the White House, we’re no different from any other office anywhere else in America. As a team, we have a lot of stories that began outside the United States.
To help make this an actual dialogue about who we are as a country, we thought we’d share some of those stories with you.
President Obama wants the result of this debate to be legislation that reflects who we are as a country — as much a nation of laws as we are a nation of immigrants. And he wants his White House to reflect who we are as a people — individuals from different circumstances united by a shared set of values and a common set of goals.
This issue is personal, as much for my colleagues here as for people anywhere else. And the thing I love about this video is that these folks help to make it clear why it’s important to fix this broken system. All of them are fulfilling huge dreams, and if others get the chance to have that same opportunity, we’ll all benefit as a nation.
And if more people understand that the motivation for this reform is about living up to our values as Americans, it will be easier to get this done.
That’s a position even further to the right than the one held by the man they nominated for president last year, Mitt Romney — who advocated for self-deportation.
Share this graphic with your friends, and let them know what happened this morning:Last year, President Obama announced that these young people — sometimes called DREAMers — who contribute to our country by serving in the military or going to college, can request relief and apply for work visas. But now Republicans in Congress are trying to take that away.
President Obama can’t create a permanent solution for these young people by himself — only Congress can do that. Today’s vote was a major step back in the fight for common-sense immigration reform, and we need to hold the House Republicans who voted to put the DREAMers at risk for deportation accountable.
The key question moving forward is whether the GOP-led House moves in the direction of common-sense immigration reform that fixes our broken system and creates a path to earned citizenship, or whether it goes backwards and targets young people that are here through no fault of their own and who are contributing to our communities every day.
Share the above graphic with your friends and family, and encourage them to join us here:
In this week’s address, President Obama says that the United StatesSenate will soon take action to fix our broken immigration system with a commonsense bill, and urges lawmakers to act quickly to pass this bill so that we can continue to live up to our traditions as a nation of laws, and also a nation of immigrants.
“The United States and Brazil represent two of the largest, most innovative, dynamic economies in the world today. It is true both of us can continue to prosper whether or not we deepen our economic relations. But imagine, just imagine what these two dynamic economies could do with greater trade and investment for our people, for the hemisphere, for the world.”
“You made something bipartisan happen in this town that is — that’s a powerful thing. You guys were able to get Democrats and Republicans to vote for something that was important. So this year, if it looks like your representatives have changed their minds, you’re going to have to call them up again or email them again or Tweet them again and ask them what happened, what changed?”
Mental Health Conference: Health care experts, psychologists, faith leaders, advocates for veterans, and administration officials joined President Obama at the White House on Monday for the National Conference on Mental Health.
The conference was just one part of the Obama Administration’s effort to combat this problem and focused on ways we can reduce the stigma and help the millions of Americans struggling with mental health problems recognize the importance of reaching out for assistance.
“Too many Americans who struggle with mental health illnesses are still suffering in silence rather than seeking help, and we need to see it that men and women who would never hesitate to go see a doctor if they had a broken arm or came down with the flu, that they have that same attitude when it comes to their mental health.”
“Chile has been on a remarkable growth trajectory over several decades, and the progress that it’s made in terms of strengthening its economy, pulling people out of poverty, establishing a strong manufacturing and industrial and service base, its strong exports sector are all proof of the talents of the Chilean people but also Chile’s embrace of democracy and human rights and a market economy. And as a consequence, Chile has become not only a leader in the hemisphere but also a leader in the world.”
“This year, Baltimore won’t just be seeing the Ravens on Sundays or Monday night or Thursday night…You’ll see players spending their Tuesdays – normally their only day off during the season – visiting hospitals and senior centers, and day after day, you’ll see a team that loves Baltimore as much as Baltimore loves the Ravens.”
National Security Team: On Wednesday, President Obama announced the departure of Tom Donilon, former National Security Advisor, and appointed Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice as his replacement. To replace Ambassador Rice in New York, the President nominated Samantha Power.
Following his announcement, the White House invited students from schools in Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania to join the National “Show and Tell” Google+ Hangout. Students and administrators from these schools demonstrated how they are using the internet and technology in their classrooms.
Taking on the Patent TrollsOur patent system is meant to encourage innovation and invention. But in recent years, companies called “patent trolls” have used abusive patent litigation designed to threaten innovators in order to extract settlements based on questionable claims.
It costs the economy billions of dollars and undermines American innovation, and today President Obama issued five executive actions and seven legislative recommendations designed to protect innovators from unnecessary litigation and improve the quality patents in our system.
Be a Seed for Change 
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