Justin Bieber’s not going anywhere. The White House is refusing to weigh in on a petition that gained the support of more than 273,000 people to deport the Canadian-born pop star.
In an official response titled “Believing in Immigration Reform” and posted on the We the People site, the White House wrote, “Sorry to disappoint, but we won’t be commenting on this one.”
{mosads}It continued, “The We the People terms of participation state that, ‘to avoid the appearance of improper influence, the White House may decline to address certain procurement, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or similar matters properly within the jurisdiction of federal departments or agencies, federal courts, or state and local government in its response to a petition.’”
The online petition was created in January, shortly after the baby-faced entertainer was arrested on DUI and resisting arrest charges in Miami, Fla. The petition stated, “We would like to see the dangerous, reckless, destructive, and drug abusing, Justin Bieber deported and his green card revoked.”
The 20-year-old “Beauty and the Beat” singer has been a tabloid regular in recent months after repeated brushes with the law and allegations of drug abuse.
While refusing to address the demands of the petition, the White House did use it as an opportunity to tout its stance on immigration reform, writing, “So we’ll leave it to others to comment on Mr. Bieber’s case, but we’re glad you care about immigration issues. Because our current system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers, and 11 million people are living in the shadows. That status quo isn’t good for our economy or our country. We need common-sense immigration reform to make sure everyone plays by the same set of rules.”
The official reply from the White House even included a subtle reference to Bieber’s largely tween fanbase, known as “Beliebers,” in an attempt to plug immigration reform: “Not only is it the right thing to do morally, it’s the right thing for our country: Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next 20 years. For those of you counting at home, that’s 12.5 billion concert tickets — or 100 billion copies of Mr. Bieber’s debut album. You better believe it.”
The response concludes, “While we weren’t able to address your direct concerns about Mr. Bieber, we hope you believe your We the People experience was a positive one.”