President Obama poked fun at anti-immigration sentiment Thursday with a Hispanic audience, saying the U.S. “would be a really empty country” if his opponents had their way.
Speaking at the 25th anniversary of the White House initiative on educational excellence for Hispanics, Mr. Obama said America succeeds when everyone helps “to make sure the next generation does even better than we do.”
“That’s how we’ve always made this country great — not by building walls, but by tearing down barriers,” Mr. Obama said. “Not by trying to divide us, but by trying to build community. Not by telling people to go back where they came from — because this would be a really empty country if that’s what happened.”
The president said people in the U.S. “come together to make this country more perfect for our kids and those who come after us.”
“That’s our American heritage, as well as our Hispanic heritage,” he said.
The president was introduced at the East Room event by Diana Calderon, a high school senior from Arlington, Virginia, who is a Dreamer — a student who was able to avoid deportation as an illegal immigrant due to executive action by Mr. Obama in 2012.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.