Obama interrupted by heckling at immigration announcement
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Neil Munro of The Daily Caller tries to ask his question the second time as he interrupts President Barack Obama's remarks about deportation of Illegal Immigrants June 15, 2012 in Washington, D.C.
By NBC's Ali Weinberg
President Barack Obama introduced his administration's new Policy granting qualified legal status to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children in a Rose Garden statement interrupted by the heckling of a conservative reporter.
As the president, standing at a podium outside the White House, explained why he was implementing the policy, Daily Caller writer Neil Munro began to shout questions, asking why Obama would want foreigners in the country instead of giving jobs to Americans.
“It is not the time for questions. Not while I'm speaking,” the president, visibly irritated, said just five minutes into his speech.
President Obama responds to a member of the media who interrupted an immigration speech on Friday.
After a pause, he continued to tout the new policy of suspending deportation actions against qualified students for two years and allowing them to instead apply for job permits. According to White House officials, those individuals would have to reapply after two years in the event Congress does not pass permanent legislation in the meantime.
Obama noted that his new policy could quickly be made permanent if Congress passed the stalled DREAM act, which would provide U.S. residency to immigrants who have a college education or served in the military.
“This is a temporary stop-gap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people," Obama said. “Precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act."
A few minutes later, the heckler started up again, allowing Obama to even more forcefully make his point as he countered the shouting.
President Obama announces that the Department of Homeland Security will no longer seek the deportation of many young illegal immigrants.
“And the answer to your question, sir,” he began, pointing his finger from the podium directly at Munro, “-- and the next time I'd prefer you let me finish my statements before you ask that question -- is this is the right thing to do for the American people.”
“If there's a young person here who has grown up here and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work, that's the right thing to do,” he continued, at that point seeming to speak with the dual purpose of heralding the new policy and drowning the heckler out.
Original POst - http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/15/12242415-obama-interrupted-by-heckling-at-immigration-announcement?lite
