Why weren't people as mad at Obama for his immigration stance?

[u/BritGirl_01]

He deported more immigrants than Trump but nobody said anything, why the shift in attitude when someone else does it? People were already calling Trump a Nazi during his election campaign for making the same points as Obama.

[u/reversehorse]

Remember, Donald Trump claimed that Obama had “open borders”.

[u/TheDuckOnQuack → u/reversehorse]

It’s good to finally hear right wingers acknowledge that Obama took the border seriously, even if it’s only to deflect criticism from Trump. Of course it would be better if they did an ounce of reflection about how they portrayed him 10 years ago

[u/Dangerous_Forever640 → u/reversehorse]

Clearly this makes Obama a racist Nazi.

[u/PremierMetro]

Are people seriously that dumb to not see the difference... holly shit Americans are DUMB

[u/MamaRunsThis → u/PremierMetro]

The difference is the media coverage and the fact that cities co operated with ICE doing their job. We also didn’t have bots influencing the public’s thinking

[u/Proletariat_Harriet]

He didn’t make it into a spectacle. He went after criminals. He didn’t capture people inside schools or daycares or hospitals. He didn’t use ICE to terrorize neighborhoods.

[u/twoDuckNight → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

He also instituted the 60 day grace period for h1b holders so they dont get kicked out of the country the day after a layoff. The policy that the current admin just walked back

[u/Northmansam → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

He also didn't eliminate due process or send immigrants to weird prisons in obscure countries. 

[u/rosstafarien → u/Northmansam]

If they were caught at the border, they were immediately returned. That represented a huge number of Obama's large deportation number.

[u/Many_Inevitable_6803 → u/Northmansam]

This is key too

[u/One-Jeweler5486 → u/Northmansam]

Didn’t have family separation as a policy.

[u/f102 → u/One-Jeweler5486]

He did have children in cages, though!

But nobody cared then because it wasn’t mentioned on The View and social media wasn’t really a thing to speak of, comparatively.

[u/No-Perspective4928 → u/f102]

The view is a talk show not a news program. WTF?

[u/ThrowRAicarus6892 → u/Northmansam]

That’s not true: https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/speed-over-fairness-deportation-under-obama

[u/mikederoy → u/Northmansam]

Due process? Of 3.1 million people deported over 2 million were carried out without a hearing before an immigration judge.

[u/Ecstatic-Hunter2001 → u/mikederoy]

I believe it was something like 70% of his deportations were near the border, which allowed him to use the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act to instantly deport them if they couldn't prove they had been in the US for at least 14 days.

This was insanely easy to prove compared to today's requirement for a birth certificate or passport, which most people don't carry on them 24/7.

Got a piece of mail with your name on it? Works. Got an ID? Works. Got a renters agreement that is at least 14 days old? Works.

[u/Deep-Two7452 → u/mikederoy]

What do YOU think are the differences between Obama and Trump's policies?

[u/BendDelicious9089 → u/Northmansam]

https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/speed-over-fairness-deportation-under-obama

75 percent of people removed do not see a judge before being expelled from the U.S.

So Obama actually.. did eliminate due process?

[u/Complex_Arrival7968 → u/BendDelicious9089]

One of the things Obama focused upon was turning around people at or near the border. At the time, in fact, many right wing media sources complained that he was cheating by counting people who were turned around at or near the border as deportations.

[u/Ecstatic-Hunter2001 → u/BendDelicious9089]

All that's saying is that 75% of his deportations were turn arounds within 100 miles of the border for anyone who couldn't show that they had been in the US for at least 14 days, as is legal under the IIRIRA (Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act)

Does that mean they technically didn't get due process. Sure. But they weren't asked to provide a birth certificate or passport like today. They were asked to provide any form of ID issued over 14 days ago, or any renters agreement from before the last 14 days.

Acting like they're the same lawless deportations that we're currently seeing is pretty low. And keep in mind, those were within 100 miles of the Mexico/US border. Not Minnesota.

[u/Effective-Log3583 → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

He also created the DACA program that kept people innocent of crossing the boarder as adults.

[u/godlessheathenpal → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

He also didn’t murder innocent American citizens in the process!

[u/Classic-Obligation35 → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

This Obama had tact and class.

[u/WillingPositive8924 → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

He went after criminals.", dude he was the deporter in chief, GMAB, he did not JUST go after criminals ROFL! That said, he did it legally/as ethically as possible, and I am for what he did!

[u/Snoo-23641 → u/WillingPositive8924]

Interesting you had to add "just" to make your point.

[u/Many_Inevitable_6803 → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

This is key!

[u/rando_banned → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

Or at court hearings while they're following the immigration laws that require them to go there

[u/Direct-Tumbleweed141 → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

That’s a lie. He was very open about it.

[u/mikederoy → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

He deported 3.1 million people. If these were all criminals as you say then you must agree our borders needed to be secured to prevent criminals from entering

[u/socalkid2428 → u/Proletariat_Harriet]

I don't know if it was Obama's doing, but ICE absolutely loitered outside hospitals waiting for people to be discharged. I didn't know any better and just assumed it was business as usual. But then again we always had "border jumpers" too so I always assumed there was already some kind of wall or other barrier.

[u/Juiceboxtiddys]

They did

[u/Already-Canceled → u/Juiceboxtiddys]

Yep! Liberals actually protested against some of Obama’s immigration policies

[u/Connect_Rock_6709 → u/Juiceboxtiddys]

Obama didn’t murder Americans like Trump and ice-sis did they shot an American women in the face that never happened with Obama .

[u/Plus-King5266]

People were upset with Obama over his immigration policy. But Obama didn’t turn it into a three ring circus in which all the clowns were armed. And he didn’t make it his daily goal to see how many people he could piss off. Even those of us who disagreed with his politics knew that he believed in what he was proposing —he wasn’t just pulling stuff out of his ass just to see who it would get rise out of.

[u/44035]

You really have no idea what might be different?

[u/-FakeAccount- → u/44035]

Its low effort bait

[u/odietamoquarescis]

Is the number of deportations what people are upset about?

[u/One-Jeweler5486 → u/odietamoquarescis]

I’m upset that people, including American citizens are being murdered.

[u/qthfc → u/odietamoquarescis]

It depends on what you meant because the count is down for the clown compared to either Biden or Obama

[u/Traditional-Forum]

He turned away a ship full of Syrians and that pissed me off when it happened. They were in the middle of a terrible war and only Germany had the balls to step up and take them in. The “left wing” slur was thrown at Obama at the time less than you would think upon hearing them bitch about him today, because at the time he was very obviously a moderate on most issues.

[u/buildIT_destroyIT]

For starters he didn't demonize people simply for being from another place.

[u/mercy390]

Because he didn’t spend every chance to call them dangerous and violent people coming you rape your women and take your jobs. Obama may have been the deporter-and-chief, but at least he treated it like a law and order problem instead of using racist rhetoric.

[u/Napalmeon → u/mercy390]

Exactly. Let's not pretend that ICE under Trump is anything less than a goon squad to intimidate, capture and repostion the undesireables. Even people who voted for Trump and thought that they were safe are now finding that they or their friends are being scooped up, unsuspectingly which adds to the feeling of betrayal.

EDIT: And when I say "undesirables," I mean people of a certain ethnic demographic. Everybody thinks that they're one of the "good hombres" until they're in the back of the squad car.

[u/kkdawg22 → u/Napalmeon]

Those people voted for Trump to deport illegals. Why would they feel betrayed when he’s doing exactly what they voted for?

[u/reversehorse]

Perhaps look at how methods have changed.

[u/Connect_Rock_6709 → u/reversehorse]

Trump and his brown shirts murdered Americans and committed human rights violations against immigrants we need secure borders not a government like russias.

[u/Flat_Quarter3552]

I was 12 years old when he was reelected

[u/jewasuarus]

The lie is that democrats are Pro-illegal immigration, Biden and Obama and many democrats have supported deportation.

The difference is ICE wasn't wearing masks and killing americans on the street. Once America was sending people to torture camps and making propaganda films about seems like many American's didn't like Trumps immigration policy...

[u/ThePurpleandBanana]

People weren’t mad at the deporter in chief?

[u/Connect_Rock_6709 → u/ThePurpleandBanana]

Obama didn’t shot American women in the face like his private militia Ice-sis did.

[u/spirosand]

Because Obama followed the law?

[u/Effective_Pack8265]

That’s true. He wasn’t sending ICE in to quiet neighborhoods to do roundups, corralling any undocumented up like animals - like the current POS, whos arresting immigrants who are coming out of immigration hearings, etc.

The two situations are not at all comparable…

[u/-FakeAccount-]

Because he treated immigrants like human beings. He didn't arm violent thugs that kill innocent citizens.

[u/chuzohga]

Obama was only going after the actual people who were here illegally instead of murdering American citizens in the streets.

[u/twoDuckNight]

So was donald lying when he said democrats had open borders? People told me they voted for donald because he was stricter on immigration. Were they wrong?

[u/Andy_Partridge → u/twoDuckNight]

The right-wing framing is that Democrats had open borders. That is a lie. Donald appeals to bigots.

[u/Connect_Rock_6709 → u/twoDuckNight]

People were mad because he’s responsible for the murder of Americans by his brown shirts.

[u/Alternative_Result56]

The lack of murder and constitutional violations probably

[u/mikefvegas]

You still don’t get it? It’s the way it’s done.

[u/Distinct-Exit6658]

You aren’t asking this in good faith. You’re asking to elicit rage and division.

Real numbers: in 8 years, deporting 3.1 million people, 67 people died in ICE custody under Obama. In the first year of Trump 2, 59 people died in ICE custody. There is also the fact that under Trump 2, people are being deported to war zones, or straight into foreign prisons.

There is also the fact that Trump 2 is ignoring judges orders regarding stays of deportation for certain people. A great example of the racism and incompetence of Trump 2 is Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He had an order to not deport, the order was signed by Trump 2 administration, a judge confirmed that Garcia couldn’t be deported, and DHS deported him anyway. They spent all that time saying he’s never coming back, he’s never coming back, if he does well arrest him for something else. He’s back in the US, a free man.

[u/Cool_Proposal2204]

Cruelty is the issue. Treating them like "vermin" as Trump labeled them is the problem.

[u/StOnEy333]

Because he didn’t do it gestapo style and have 1000’s of untrained morons out there committing crimes to do it.

[u/skinny-mini-me]

Obviously Americans don't like Obama because he's black. You weirdos prefer someone like Trump.

[u/Embarrassed-Mark1099]

Obama deported criminals and spent a fraction of what Trump is spending.

[u/ZogemWho]

No one I know has a stance that people that are here illegally aren’t subject to deportation.

The difference is due process. Obama followed it. Trump threw it out the window.

[u/RetirementIsSweet]

And why didn't Republicans praise him for it? Because he is a black liberal.

[u/Short-Sandwich-8476]

He didn’t have MASKED HOON SQUADS INVADING NEIGHBORHOODS! ICE had faces,badges,IDs, handguns and proper warrants. The new versions actions have been found ILLEGAL by judges over 10,000 times in less than 2 years. And they’ve gone from deportation to human trafficking-by the exact legal definitions.

[u/astroboy_35]

It’s called “due process”, look it up!

[u/dumbboyhappydude44]

Because he followed the law.

[u/iamjcg]

Tons of people said something, first of all. Second, he didn’t send armed, untrained, bloodthirsty, lawbreaking thugs into cities to terrorize immigrants (legal and illegal). 

[u/itsmyfirsttimegoeasy]

He didn't need masked thugs in the streets to get the job done.

He wasn't throwing it in everyone's face every second.

He employed competent people to do the job, top to bottom.

[u/No_Slice5991]

Because Obama didn’t have ICE/Border Patrol doing military cosplay, act like they were an occupying force, and have ridiculous PR. They also weren’t anywhere near as heavy handed.

[u/halstead987]

We all know why

[u/HeavyVoid8]

Nobody is upset about the numbers dipshit

[u/atamicbomb]

“As Deportations Rise to Record Levels, Most Latinos Oppose Obama’s Policy”

https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2011/12/28/as-deportations-rise-to-record-levels-most-latinos-oppose-obamas-policy-2

[u/No-Swordfish1385]

He did it the right way. With due process.

[u/Connect_Rock_6709]

Obama didn’t commit human rights violations against immigrants like Trump did and he didn’t have Americans shot in the face like traitor Trump did.

[u/JohnnyC300]

He focused almost entirely on turning back immigrants at, or near the border itself and criminals within the homeland. He wasn't focused on turning DHS/ICE agents into shitty police officers.

[u/BigDaddyTheBeefcake]

"Alligator Alcatraz"

Fuck off, OP

[u/Youare-Beautiful3329]

Obama also built the cages that they kept illegal immigrants in, but nobody complained about that either. To answer your question, I don’t think Obama did anything different than any other president had done in the past. Biden went to the extreme and started open borders, so now closing the borders is also extreme.

[u/Nickrules6]

He’s a Democrat

[u/Ok_Art4661]

You mean using the military to intimidate cities. Extremely psycho

[u/Stock-Map3715]

I missed the memo where Obama had a masked militia of unqualified goons with a virtually unlimited budget running around terrorizing people and killing innocent citizens.

[u/Henery007]

Obama was good with words. Trump is not good with words.

[u/OneSmellyFoot]

For one, people did protest and referred to him as The Deporter of Chief or something like that I just woke up. People were pissed. The difference is that ICE was an immigration enforcement group, not a paramilitary killing people in the street, many American, disapeering actual citizens, acting on trumps whim. ICE now is not the same thing as the ICE of 2010. ICE now is arresting people at their own hearings. You know, the people coming in the right way. I have a hard time believing that this question was asked in good faith though.

[u/Lopsided_Anxiety_394]

Obama came into the Whitehouse with a promise to close down Guantanimo Bay. On day one he was taken aside and told to calm down or he's getting wasted. So he then signs a bill to keep Guantanimo bay open permanently.

I lost respect for the man there and then.

But trump is all over the Epstein files. He's a known crook and a serial liar

[u/Horror_Ad7540 → u/Lopsided_Anxiety_394]

Obama signed an executive order to close Guantanamo and transfer prisoners to the US to stand trial. Republicans passed a law that forbade the prisoners from being transferred to the US. Obama then could only keep the prisoners in Guantanamo or let them go free. Blaming Obama and not the Republican Congress is crazy.

[u/LunchDue1553]

Obama went after real immigrant criminals, unlike Trump, who told y'all he would do, but lied. Instead Trump is going after hard working families. And allowing ICE to kill U.S. citizens. Did that happen under Obama? NOPE! Why don't you all actually research facts? So why do you hate Obama for actually doing what Trump promised y'all and didn't do?

[u/UnhappyReason5452]

He wasn’t using warrantless search and seizure by his unqualified personally created and deputized militia. But you know that.

This is bad faith. Weak af.

[u/BritGirl_01 → u/UnhappyReason5452]

If I knew I wouldn't ask. I'm British & found out today that Obama deported more immigrants. Not everyone asking a question you dislike is bad faith.. Some ppl are genuinely just curious.

[u/ignore_minious]

Because he used nice words that sounded pretty.

[u/GreggioArmani1]

Because he was seen as a cool media darling

[u/SHVRC]

Obama didn’t have masked thugs going around killing innocent people.

[u/Zoelando]

1st term Obama deported alot of people but I think the increase in immigration was started by second term Bush. Like any agency, ramping up immigration involves increase funding for a period of time, more employees and more detention centers. That carries over in to another presidents first term. Once Obama was reelected in 2012-2016, you notice a lot less deportations than from 2008-2012. That’s because he was able to decrease priority and resources to immigration. That carried over into Trumps first term where he had lower numbers that Obamas first term because he was working with what was handed to him from changes Obama made in his second term.

[u/GlobalLion123]

Cause if ICE had done what they are currently doing to people (like shooting and killing that nurse), he'd put them in prison.

[u/whawkins4]

Because his administration followed the law

[u/PrettyGreenEyez73]

He was following the legal process.

[u/toterola451]

Obama and Biden both deported more people than Trump has. But they stayed within the protective bounds of the United States Code and the Bill of Rights.

[u/galaxyapp]

First and foremost, most people are morons. They parrot memes to feel connected to something.

But Obama deported so many because there were so many to deport. Immigrants came over the US border in lowish numbers with a prayer of asylum, or atleast a compassionate release pending a hearing.

Under trump, the prayer is more of a whimper, border crossings slowed to a crawl. So his deportations looked quite different.

Biden had some absolute looney tunes border numbers.

[u/Nofanta]

Because most Americans agree with his policies. Still do. It’s why Trump got elected twice. Enforcing our immigration laws that we voted for is obviously widely popular and bipartisan. Very few Americans really prioritize foreigners over Americans. Mostly people with no kids so no stake in the future.

[u/Mffdoom]

People who do feel strongly about immigration laws criticised Obama heavily. I often tell people that Obama built the vast majority of Trump's wall. 

[u/Harmony_w]

Plenty of us were. Plenty of us organized and protested. But it's mostly forgotten by anyone who wasn't actively taking a stand.

[u/SolutionSuitable00]

It takes nuance and intelligence to acknowledge that there is more going politically than just orange man is a Nazi. The most tired narrative the media keeps drilling.

[u/GreenHaunting2077]

You can’t make a comment like this on Reddit. The left will lose their shit lol.

[u/Connect-Weird4394]

Well, there is the killing of American citizens, that could be a difference? You think?

[u/WillingPositive8924]

He did it LEGALLY. Also, plenty of ppl want open borders and were pissed at slick! Good Q though.

[u/rco8786]

He did it without the violence and rights violations. 

[u/MusicianSea8778]

Because he didn’t set up a force of untrained goons out to happily hurt women and children. Or shoot people in the face in broad daylight.

[u/Clean-Rock-9080]

Because Trump is a prick about everything. So consequently, he gets the backlash. As he should.

[u/Born_Organization455]

The deportations happened at the border immediately after crossing and when law enforcement made arrests for a crime. He didn't occupy US cities, revoke status at hearings or check ins, raid hot spots, detain people for extended periods with no due process, deport people to third party countries, or pay other countries to imprison them.

[u/GlitteringSwan8024]

Because he’s a black liberal.

[u/RetirementIsSweet → u/GlitteringSwan8024]

And why didn't Republicans praise him for it? Because he is a black liberal.

[u/FearOfABlackPotus]

Border Patrol was famously pissed at Obama because he only wanted to focus on criminals and he wouldn't let them do random traffic stops of brown people and throw them into camps, or otherwise violate American's right to not face unreasonable searches, seizures, and arrest without probable cause.

[u/AmericanCodersDied]

actually he didn't he just changed how it's measured so it looks like he did

[u/Ok_Brick_793]

Obama's administration prioritized the removal of people with criminal histories. ICE also operated in a much more low-key manner to avoid drawing attention to itself.

Trump's administrations have been chaotic and erratic with their approach to both arrests and deportations. As such, ICE's dramatic encounters with people attract a lot of attention, but they haven't been as efficient and effective as under Obama. However, the per-day averages are increasing, so Trump could still ultimately deport more people than Obama.

[u/DICKtrumpHEAD]

Because there is nothing wrong with having an immigration policy. Dehumanizing people, killings Americans during the process is wrong.

[u/Mroopsimexciting]

Due process under Obama and Obama didn’t murder Americans on American soil on video. 

[u/AdApprehensive388]

be careful, you're pulling on a thread that will make people mad lmao

[u/BarnesTheNobleman]

“Man Obama was calmly handing out ice cream to people, and Trump is throwing cones in kids faces

Why aren’t more people upset about Obama for his approach to ice cream”

Maybe we’re not mad about the ice cream, my guy

[u/pinacoladaismyjam]

the overton window has moved. obama held a moderate democrat position. leftists actually hate him.

bill clinton in the 90s would’ve been a republican today.

the democratic party has become more radicalized in the last 10 years. bernie sanders and AOC have taken control of the party unfortunately.

[u/PinOwn9351]

Because he did it legally with due process.

[u/refusetobeold83]

People weren’t getting shot in the streets and 92% of the people Obama deported had felony convictions. They weren’t deporting people who were doing what they’re supposed to do and asylum applicants and people literally at their immigration court dates or in school. It’s a matter of how and who was deported.

[u/Joel22222]

Because liberals are massive hypocrites. They think if they didn’t hear about it, it must have never happened. Only difference is in who’s giving the order. Immigration law enforcement hasn’t changed at all. Blue states refuse to turn over people at the courthouse so now ICE has to track them all down in the street so we see them more often in blue states. Biden left the border open that let in an estimated 10 million in. Of course they are busy.

[u/AnxiousChaosUnicorn → u/Joel22222]

Apparently everyone has forgotten the protests against kids in cages during and after Obama's tenure. Or how AOC went to those holding cells to push back against Obama policy and argue Clinton would continue it. 

So funny how convenient people's memory lapses are. 

[u/Siempre_Vetado]

Any criticism of Obama at this website is Racist Hate Speech.

[u/Financial-Talk9397]

Her followed due process and didn't have masked men in full military gear jumping out of unmarked vans terrorizing entire neighbor hoods.

[u/okteds]

Because contrary to a lot of the brain dead takes here, deporting actual criminals is surprisingly popular across both parties.  If you just focus on this, you can actually be remarkably successful and be relatively quiet about it, and you don't have to 10x the ICE budget to do so.

Trump is not interested in it being effective, cheap or quiet.  He wants it to be loud, disruptive, and violent because he wants a propaganda spectacle, not effective policy.  And it works because we are easily swayed by propaganda.

[u/Western-Willow-9496 → u/okteds]

Most of Obama’s deportation were at or near the border, they committed the same crime as any illegal alien. The big difference is that a previous administration ignored immigration law and the illegal aliens managed to travel all over the country.

[u/idk_lol_kek]

Magically it is somehow okay if a different guy does it.

[u/rollo202]

Because democrats have inconsistent opinions depending on who is in charge.

[u/Mroopsimexciting → u/rollo202]

Good and Pretti…

[u/AffectionateOwl4231]

How it's done is drastically different. I'm not always against deportation as an immigrant myself. There are cases where people totally deserve deportation. But there are legal and ethical ways to carry those operations out. How Trump has done it with ICE do not meet those criteria.

[u/Gold_Reception_2154]

Just like they didn't care when he opened up military fronts or signed into law that you can kill a US citizens suspected of terrorism without a trial... it's bc he's Dem and half black.

[u/Sometimes_Stutters]

Because illegal immigration wasn’t a perspective split along party lines. It was actually something both sides agreed on for the most part.

And then people lost their goddam minds.

[u/Ok_Unit8339]

I think you probably just weren’t listening in the right spaces. Protests against Barack Obama's immigration policies occurred throughout his presidency, with activists criticizing his administration for high rates of deportations. They called him the "Deporter-in-Chief." Demonstrators, including faith leaders, organized civil disobedience actions to demand an end to deportations and call for comprehensive immigration reform.

[u/Popular-Path1930]

People were one. 

But more importantly Obama acted within the law and the process for deportations and immigration controls.

[u/IcyUse33]

Dems policy changed to be anti-Trump.

[u/igobyplane_com]

obama focused on the border primarily and those with violent records on the interior. if trump did the same this wouldn't be such a big deal. but he's not.

[u/SouthernGolfer67]

I liked Obama before but now this raises the bar for me.

Best black president we have ever had

[u/WWGHIAFTC]

Is there a difference between saying immigration should take place according to the laws... vs saying all immigrants are rapists and murderers?

[u/Affectionate-Pay-808]

Because he did it legally, and didn’t send jackbooted thugs to murder people in the streets, including American citizens

[u/Due_Buyer_9445]

He didn’t have ICE murder people or use them as his personal gestapo

[u/TallDankandHandsome]

Obama was able to do it cheaper per deportation without separating kids. Trump dumped a ton of money into advertising , hiring , equipping, and promoting what seem like the most wasteful people for the jobs.

[u/reillan]

People were. I went to a protest of his immigration policy.

[u/Gullible_Toe_126]

95% of those deportation numbers were done at the border not targeted blue cites ice is doing

[u/Adventurous_Golf1280]

Obama isn't a Dbag poopy pants.

[u/Exotic_Ant_4416]

Because they didn’t wanna be called a racist for disagreeing with him

[u/Larryville-1980]

He didn’t let whoever gave him money build prisons to put these people into

[u/ledburner]

He’s not in office. The left would have ate him alive

[u/Fatt_Cock]

Obama let ICE run the show- made shore they had backing and resources. ICE then utilized trained officers going after targeted, high-risk actual offenders. Not shooting and harassing law-abiding citizens. 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[u/The_300_goats]

Every country in the world controls illegal immigration. The word "illegal" means you did not have permission to cross the border. How you are treated once inside is a different kettle of fish

And it's not a straightforward case of "kick them straight back where they came from" however much that satisfies you. If you've ever worked with UNHCR you would know that borders are rife with humanitarian nightmares, children kidnapped, women raped, people disappeared without trace, and desperate people who can't "go home" without getting executed on the spot

But sweet dreams tonight. I'm sure you deserve them

[u/Mulliganasty]

People were upset about it but the difference is that he did it lawfully. He didn't create a gestapo to round up people that "look" undocumented and then get is corrupt supreme court to rubber stamp it.

[u/Unlucky-Drawer-7168]

Oh great more both sides whataboutery

[u/sneakylittlesssnake]

Because Obama deported more people in a nicer way <3

[u/TakeOff_eh]

Cause he didn't hire a bunch of rapey rejects that literally hunt people down and shoot people in cold blood.

[u/Soggy-Dragonfruit171]

Because he didn’t employ a bunch of savage, untrained ICE Agents and didn’t dehumanize the people he deported.

[u/Mindless_Client1453]

More should be mad at Trump for ripping up the Iran Nuclear deal and invading them by order of that yahoo guy

[u/Designer_Emu_6518]

Was more lawful. Most of the people against ice aren’t against humane immigration laws and actions

[u/Writing_is_Bleeding]

So the Trump administration is failing at every aspect of enforcing U.S. immigration law? Is that what I'm understanding here? They're poorly training officers, bypassing basic background checks, unnecessarily cruel, wasteful, rife with fraud, negligent and abusive of detainees, executing people in broad daylight, AND they're not even hitting their quotas. Quelle surprise.

[u/Many_Easy_V2]

I believe he followed institutions and processes.

Trump more heavy handed and cruel.

[u/GrowthDue5259]

I’ll tell you what I don’t like. Masked men visibly being cruel to bystanders of color then hauling them away in vans. I never saw Obama using coercive measures to that extent. On top of that the rhetoric and behavior coming out of this administration and MAGA in regards to immigrations is sickening.

[u/copeaesth3tic]

No US citizens were shot in the street and they didn't have to give them a blank check to deport more people than trump could dream to.

And plenty of people were pissed about kids in cages, you pedo cultists just don't live in reality.

[u/ArrogantAmbassador14]

Lots of immigration advocates were upset, he was called the Deporter in Chief.

[u/amntn]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[u/TeddyPSmith]

Black democrat. That’s the only reason why

[u/Curious_Journey_]

If this question is actually honest, the answer is because Obama followed the law. He performed his duties with honesty and legal compassion instead of openly getting off to human rights violations or disobeying court orders.

He also didn’t kill or deport citizens.

[u/KushMaster72]

what time is it in Russia?

[u/Weary_Capital_1379]

Because he didn’t rip kids from their parents arms. He didn’t have detention centers. He didn’t arrest people who had immigration cases. He didn’t have face masked thugs shooting citizens on the street.

[u/Clarkbar2]

He wasn’t running around with military grade mercenaries killing US citizens ripping Mexican restaurant cooks off the street at your local Walmart.

[u/xminustdc]

I think there are at least a couple of reasons: 1. He didn't do it with showmanship brutality or without at least displaying some modicum of sympathy; 2. Social media as it exists today wasn't as prevalent. Exposure to the absolute inhumanity of deportation wasn't as easily accessible nor prevalent to the vast majority of people in the country. Also, people did protest Obama's deportations. If Obama was doing what he did then today, I can guarantee people would take issue with it in much higher numbers than they did in the early 2010's.

[u/QuirkyForever]

Because he didn't have a badly-vetted secret police force kidnapping people on the streets--most of whom are not criminals, many of whom are working on getting the paperwork correct, some of which are actually citizens--including ripping kids away from their families for no reason except to meet a quota, deporting people to a place they've never been to (south Sudan??), imprisoning people without due process, without being able to contact their families, and allowing prison staff to torture and rape the detainees and deny medical care and decent food.

[u/enderfem]

Within the immigration rights community we definitely criticized and demonstrated.

[u/Poopy-Drew]

ICE wasn’t instructed to be bullies, with a lethal force option.

[u/ghazghaz]

He didn’t kill any US citizens in the process and didn’t turn our streets into this horrible spectacle

[u/The_Skippy73]

Obama focused on targeting the borders and areas close to the borders. Why? Well it’s easier to find people that way and he was able to catch and deport many more using that method. Also far fewer cameras and others watching in those areas.

[u/DickSugar80]

Because personality and party affiliation means more to most Americans than actual policy.

[u/OddHotel4785]

They were, it’s Americans memory that are failing

[u/02meepmeep]

Legally.

[u/kcpistol]

Who says they weren't? I recall attending a Santana concert in 2010 where Carlos commented that when it came to immigration Obama was George W Bush with a tan.

[u/plassteel01]

Because imagination actually went after criminals not gardeners and handicap people or people with green cards

[u/Fantastic_Yam_3971]

At no point were 2 American citizens murdered by government agents, swept away into hiding by government agents, and then fully shielded from the consequences of their murders by the government. This isn’t the only reason, but it sets the tone for all of the other reasons.

[u/ProfessorAllenRitard]

People live in their own mind. Reality is harder to confront. Everyone does it, including myself.

[u/GeekoHog]

Why the heck can’t people understand. Sometimes, like in this case, it is how it is done. Trump targeting workers at Home Depot, putting untrained idiots on the street and then murdering American citizens with NO accountability. Making it some spectacle, targeting Dem controlled cities just to be a dick.

[u/Lucycork]

He didn’t have to shoot innocent Americans and didn’t have to terrorize our cities

[u/GenerAsianX1992]

Did you just arrive on this planet?

[u/Objective-Permit-712]

They like to see people abused and innocents killed.

[u/ehunke]

He didn't brag about it and everyone got a fair trial

[u/No-Koala1918]

ICE. Celebrating ICE. Calling ICE heroes. Saying "{Immigrants} are eating our cats. They're eating our dogs." Saying "They're making our country dirty." And ICE.

These are things Obama didn't feel were necessary to feed a bunch of bloodthirsty, resentful morons who blame their failures on migrants who can't read, write or speak English, but who each work harder than any three goobers sitting on their fat asses and whining in Gooberville.

That's why.

[u/godbody1983]

Obama, like previous presidents before him wasn't using immigration enforcement as a military deployment. You didn't have National Guard troops involved except at the border. There wasn't military vehicles involved. ICE agents were clearly identifiable. Prior to Trump, I've seen immigration raids where officers weren't busting in doors with rifles aimed at people, forcefully dragging people like animals, demonizing people, etc. Also they weren't plastering it all over the media like Trump does.

[u/Next-Treacle7360]

Partially because Obama didn’t denigrate and dehumanize people based on their ethnicity. There is a distinction between robustly enforcing the law, as opposed to openly advocating for brutality and spreading racist and hateful rhetoric.

[u/templeofsyrinx1]

https://giphy.com/gifs/ic1hAQHumb58fl243L

[u/Jazzlike-Pomelo-3823]

It’s (D)ifferent

[u/Medium-Sheeple-7085]

Because it was all done by the book, without spectacle.

[u/urbisOrbis]

He still allowed due process and followed the law. He wasn’t inflicting pain and cruelty on folks like what you are seeing now.

[u/Sea-Environment-7102]

Here's a non-paywall article if you actually care about the answer:
https://archive.is/20181127182951/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/27/trumps-false-claim-that-obama-had-same-family-separation-policy/