Thanks to Wikicommons.

President, no, Sheriff Obama, after playing the role of international lawman, has returned his focus to the dusty streets of  the Texas town of El Paso.

Yesterday, he spoke on the issue of immigration reform, something especially relevant to a town so close to Mexico (and raging drug war). Obama notes:

we have strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible.

…Over the past two and a half years, we’ve seized 31 percent more drugs, 75 percent more currency, 64 percent more weapons than ever before.

Because of this increased security Mr. Obama suggests it is now time to pass badly needed reforms as

…Today, the immigration system not only tolerates those who break the rules, but it punishes folks who follow the rules.

It could be expected that such words would stir up support from those calling for immigration reform but some are questioning his sincerity.

Over at Mother Jones, Suzy Khimm notes that

the timing of Obama’s renewed immigration push may give the impression that the move is largely a political ploy to win over Hispanic voters in 2012. Until Obama eases up enforcement and lays out a specific timeline to tackle immigration reform … he may have a tough time coming across as a credible immigration reform advocate.

Even if the President fully means what he says, Democracy in America’s E.G. thinks that his speech sent the wrong message that immigration reform is about national security rather than

an economic phenomenon with costs and benefits. That’s more accurate, less inflammatory, and would give any proposal a better chance of passage.

This has got us wondering. We’re sure that our readers are a diverse crowd, including immigrats, and we would love to know your view. Most likely they are more coherent than ours… so post them up!