After Eric Cantor's shocking defeat at the hands of an unknown Tea Party member several months ago, US immigration reform was said to be all but dead, a condition which has been substantially exacerbated by recent tensions over the influx of Central American children crossing the southern US border. However, contrary to initial appeals that Obama is limited in what he can do without a cooperative Congress, the president now appears set to take his latest unilateral decision, one that is set to set republicans fuming and the ranks of future potential democrat voters soaring, when as the WSJ reports, Obama may take "broad action to scale back deportations that could include work permits for millions of people, according to lawmakers and immigration advocates who have consulted with the White House."
From the WSJ [3]:
Mr. Obama already has offered work permits and safe harbor from deportation to so-called Dreamers—about 500,000 people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The new action could expand those protections to their parents or to other sets of illegal immigrants.
Such a move would please many Hispanic Americans and immigrant-rights advocates, who have pressed Mr. Obama to use executive authority to protect illegal immigrants with roots in the U.S. But it certainly would anger Republicans, who say Mr. Obama already has overstepped his authority by expanding protections from deportation.
"Such unlawful and unconstitutional action, if taken, cannot stand," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) said on the Senate floor this week.
An announcement is expected soon after Labor Day, an administration official said. The White House said Tuesday that no decisions on new deportation policy had been made.
What is strange is the timing of this development, coming at a time when the nation is already up in arms over the latest immigration scandal when the administration also responds to a surge in Central American children crossing the U.S. border. Paradoxically, in that case, "Mr. Obama has taken a tough stance, saying that everyone who doesn't meet narrow legal criteria to stay will be deported."
So on one hand the White House is responding to what is clear public anger at an untenable situation, on the other he is already campaigning for future votes.
The border crisis doesn't appear to be dissuading Mr. Obama from considering policy changes to offer a measure of safe harbor for at least some of the 11 million people already settled illegally in the U.S. After legislation died in Congress that would grant many of them a route to citizenship, he said he would "fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress."
Last month, Mr. Obama told members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus he was prepared to take significant executive action, said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.). The lawmaker said Mr. Obama suggested he would offer safe harbor from deportation to certain illegal immigrants with roots in their communities and family ties to U.S. citizens.
What options could the White House pursue? There are several: "One option under consideration would expand the program that offers work permits and protection from deportation to many young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
In a series of meetings with immigration advocates, faith leaders and experts, senior White House officials have asked how the administration might structure an expansion of that program, such as who might be included, participants said. The meetings have been run by White House Counsel Neil Eggleston and Cecilia Munoz, who heads the White House Domestic Policy Council.."
One possibility under discussion is to protect people with children who are U.S. citizens, participants said. That group numbers about 4.4 million, according to the research group National Foundation for American Policy.
Another option is to include parents of existing participants in the deferred-action program, a group estimated to range from 550,000 to 1.1 million. Other options include defining the group based on length of U.S. residence or employment status.
Participants said administration officials have also asked about an alternative approach to protecting people called "parole in place," which has a different legal foundation but also could allow the government to issue work permits to illegal immigrants.
"It was clear the administration is really, finally looking at providing a temporary solution to the 11 million that are here," said one participant, Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. Laura Murphy, who heads the ACLU's Washington legislative office, said she came out of her meeting sure that the administration is considering significant action to help undocumented residents.
But the bottom line here is that Obama will once again do it alone, especially at a time when there is increasing noise that the Senate too may soon have a GOP majority.
As for the punchline:
The White House is currently debating the limits of its legal authority, knowing its actions could be challenged in court by opponents.
Surely this will be the first time the White House is debating about such trivial matters.
Finally, for those who missed it [4], here is a map showing the top breakdown of immigrant source nations by state:
[5]
