Obama Stops Automatic Deportation of Illegal Aliens

Obama Stops Automatic Deportation of Illegal Aliens

Jonathon M. Seidl
The Blaze
August 18, 2011

WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — The Obama administration said Thursday it will allow many illegal immigrants facing deportation the chance to stay in this country and apply for a work permit, while focusing on removing from the U.S. convicted criminals and those who might be a national security or public safety threat.

That will mean a case-by-case review of approximately 300,000 illegal immigrants facing possible deportation in federal immigration courts, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in announcing the policy change.

Advocates for an immigration overhaul have said that the administration, by placing all illegal immigrants in the same category for deportation, has failed to live up to its promise to only deport the “worst of the worst,” as President Barack Obama has said.

“From a law enforcement and public safety perspective, DHS enforcement resources must continue to be focused on our highest priorities,” Napolitano wrote a group of senators supporting new immigration legislation. “Doing otherwise hinders our public safety mission – clogging immigration court dockets and diverting DHS enforcement resources away from the individuals who pose a threat to public safety.”

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.

So what does this mean practically? The Washington Times tries to sort it out:

It was unclear how many people might be affected by the new rules, though in fiscal year 2010 the government deported nearly 200,000 illegal immigrants who it said did not have criminal records.

The Obama administration has argued for months that it did not have authority to grant blanket absolution, and Miss Napolitano stressed that these cases will be treated individually, though the new guidance applies across the board.

Some states are rebelling against another administration effort to control illegal immigration known as Secure Communities. The program requires that when state and local law enforcement send criminal suspects’ fingerprints to the FBI, the prints are run through an immigration database to determine the person’s immigration status. States have argued that the program puts them in the position of policing immigration, which they consider a federal responsibility. Immigrant advocacy groups have complained that people who had not yet been convicted of a crime were being caught up in the system.

In June, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, sent a memo to agents outlining when and how they could use discretion in immigration cases. That guidance also covered those potentially subject to a legislative proposal, known as the DREAM Act, intended to give young illegal immigrants who go to college or serve in the military a chance at legal status.

Morton also suggested that agents consider how long someone has been in the United States, whether that person’s spouse or children are U.S. citizens and whether that person has a criminal record.

A senior administration official said delaying deportation decisions in cases for some non-criminals would allow quicker deportation of serious criminals. The indefinite stay will not give illegal immigrants a path to legal permanent residency, but will let them apply for a work permit.

“As a matter of law, they are eligible for a work authorization card, basically a taxpayer ID card, but that decision is made separately and on a case-by-case basis,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discussed the change publicly.

The official said the change will give authorities the chance to keep some cases from even reaching the court system. The message to agents in the field, the official said, would be “you do not need to put everyone you come across in the system.”

If an immigrant whose case has been stayed commits a crime or other circumstances change, their case could be reopened.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a longtime supporter of immigration overhaul and the DREAM Act, applauded the policy change.

“These students are the future doctors, lawyers, teachers and, maybe, senators, who will make America stronger,” Durbin said in an emailed statement. “We need to be doing all we can to keep these talented, dedicated, American students here, not wasting increasingly precious resources sending them away to countries they barely remember.”

“Today is a victory not just for immigrants but for the American people as a whole because it makes no sense to deport Dream Act students and others who can make great contributions to America and pose no threat,” said Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL). “It is not in our national interest to send away young people who were raised in the U.S. and have been educated here and want only to contribute to this country’s success.”

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the Obama administration was implementing reforms “against the will of Congress and the majority of American people we represent.”

“It is just the latest attempt by this president to bypass the intended legislative process when he does not get his way,” McCaul said in a statement. “The fact that we have a backlog and prioritize deportations is nothing new. This policy goes a step further granting illegal immigrants a fast-track to gaining a work permit where they will now unfairly compete with more than 9 percent of Americans who are still looking for jobs.”

Other Republicans have previously criticized the DREAM Act and other immigration legislation that would provide a path to legal status as amnesty. Following Morton’s June memo, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, introduced a bill to block the administration’s use of prosecutorial discretion and called the use of that discretion “backdoor amnesty.”

“Supporters of comprehensive and targeted amnesties for illegal aliens have consistently failed to win approval by Congress or gain support from the American public,” Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Times. “Having failed in the legislative process, the Obama administration has simply decided to usurp Congress’s constitutional authority and implement an amnesty program for millions of illegal aliens.”

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Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report

So, Obama and the Dept. of Justice get to decide which laws they're going to follow and which ones they're not going to follow? Un-fucking-real.

Once again, he just drove another nail in his re-election coffin.

New DHS rules cancel deportations

Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Homeland Security Department said Thursday it will halt deportation proceedings on a case-by-case basis against illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria such as attending school, having family in the military or are primarily responsible for other family members’ care.

The move, announced in letters to Congress, won immediate praise from Hispanic activists and Democrats who had chided President Obama for months for the pace of deportations and had argued he had authority to exempt broad swaths of illegal immigrants from deportation.

“Today’s announcement shows that this president is willing to put muscle behind his words and to use his power to intervene when the lives of good people are being ruined by bad laws,” said Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat.

In the letters to Congress, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said her department and the Justice Department will review all ongoing cases and see who meets the new criteria on a case-by-case basis.

“This case-by-case approach will enhance public safety,” she said. “Immigration judges will be able to more swiftly adjudicate high priority cases, such as those involving convicted felons.”

The new rules apply to those who have been apprehended and are in deportation proceedings, but have not been officially ordered out of the country by a judge. Miss Napolitano said a working group will try to come up with “guidance on how to provide for appropriate discretionary consideration” for “compelling cases” in those instances where someone has already been ordered deported.

It was unclear how many people might be affected by the new rules, though in fiscal year 2010 the government deported nearly 200,000 illegal immigrants who it said did not have criminal records.

The Obama administration has argued for months that it did not have authority to grant blanket absolution, and Miss Napolitano stressed that these cases will be treated individually, though the new guidance applies across the board.

In June, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that handles interior immigration law enforcement, issued new guidance expanding authority to decline to prosecute illegal immigrants. The goal, ICE leaders said, was to focus on their priority of catching illegal immigrants who have also committed other crimes or are part of gangs.

The chief beneficiaries of the new guidance are likely to be illegal immigrant students who would have been eligible for legal status under the Dream Act, which stalled in Congress last year.

“Today is a victory not just for immigrants but for the American people as a whole because it makes no sense to deport Dream Act students and others who can make great contributions to America and pose no threat,” Mr. Gutierrez said. “It is not in our national interest to send away young people who were raised in the U.S. and have been educated here and want only to contribute to this country’s success. “

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who earlier this year wrote asking Homeland Security to exempt illegal immigrant students from deportation, said the move will free up immigration courts to handle cases involving serious criminals.

Both men said, though, that they will continue to push for legislation that would grant a path to citizenship to illegal immigrants and expands new pathways for more immigrants to come legally in the future.

But groups pushing for a crackdown on illegal immigration said the administration’s move abused the Constitution by usurping a power Congress should have.

“Supporters of comprehensive and targeted amnesties for illegal aliens have consistently failed to win approval by Congress or gain support from the American public,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “Having failed in the legislative process, the Obama administration has simply decided to usurp Congress’s constitutional authority and implement an amnesty program for millions of illegal aliens.”

Some states are rebelling against another administration effort to control illegal immigration known as Secure Communities. The program requires that when state and local law enforcement send criminal suspects’ fingerprints to the FBI, the prints are run through an immigration database to determine the person’s immigration status. States have argued that the program puts them in the position of policing immigration, which they consider a federal responsibility.

So, when the Federal government wishes, it can force federal immigration enforcement responsibilities down to the states... BUT, when the states, frustrated at a lack of federal action on immigration, pass laws to ENFORCE federal immigration laws locally, the federal government SUES those states for an usurpation of federal immigration powers!!!

How fucking insane is this?!?!?!?

dblboggie wrote:So, when the Federal government wishes, it can force federal immigration enforcement responsibilities down to the states... BUT, when the states, frustrated at a lack of federal action on immigration, pass laws to ENFORCE federal immigration laws locally, the federal government SUES those states for an usurpation of federal immigration powers!!!

How fucking insane is this?!?!?!?

Yeah.... enforcing laws on the books already.

But get this shit; the illegals get a pass but employers are still getting hammered (and rightfully so) for employing illegals.

It's called, talking out of the side of ones neck.

TexasBlue wrote:Once again, he just drove another nail in his re-election coffin.

it don't matter a rat's kneecap what Obama do or don't do.. some guys will carry on hammering away before the re-election on the hope that some of the nails will get through by the time of the election.

But on with this nail..

The Homeland Security Department said Thursday it will halt deportation proceedings on a case-by-case basis

I must admit I do think it is wise, much wiser then the hammer throwers.. I always thought the punishment a criminal received need to be given out on a "case-by-case basis" which is why courts are given a range of punishments for the same crime.

let's remember the good old days of the cold war when illegal aliens where given the right to stay on "case-by-case basis" depending on how politically useful those illegal aliens where.

Oh, I see now, --Comment Removed--. Enforce this law, but not that law.... as long as it's Obama, it's a-okay.