During his speech in Miami given May of 2008, President Barack Obama stated, âÄúIt is time to recognize that future society and prosperity of the United States is fundamentally tied to the future of the Americas.âÄù Obama was also bold enough to say that he would pursue diplomacy within the Americas immediately after his election. Although I agree wholeheartedly with Obama in his thoughts and promises to the countries in Latin America, it saddens me to think these promises wonâÄôt be fulfilled. Our president has the right idea, it is without a doubt that we need to strengthen our ties with neighboring countries in Latin America, but it doesnâÄôt seem like these ideas are being carried out. It is great to know that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has gone overseas to improve relations with countries in Asia and Europe and that Obama has made a trip to Canada with the same intentions, but where are the majority of our immigrants coming from? With four out of the top 10 countries most emigrated from being in Latin America, I would think emphasis and help would go out to our neighboring counties with very high immigration rates into the United States. After all, their immigrants are making up a growing portion of our population. If we want to improve the quality of our country, it would make sense to help those countries that contribute a lot to our population, rather than making the rich countries richer and leaving the poor countries to get poorer. Obama does not want to be associated with the previous president, George W. Bush, and his decisions when it comes to foreign affairs, but if he wants to rise above their similarities, he must actively make a difference. Erin Nonnamaker University student