USA Today – by Alan GomezPresident Obama has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a system-wide review of the way it enforces the nation’s immigration laws, asking the department “to see how it can conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law,” according to a White House statement.
The order comes at a critical time for the president, who continues pushing Congress to pass a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, but is facing increased pressure from immigration advocates who say he should halt all deportations until a new law is passed.
Obama has already taken several steps in recent years to slow down the pace of deportations from the country.
Two years ago, he created a program to halt the deportations of undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. More than 520,000 people have qualified for that program, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. And in November, his administration formalized a program that allows the immediate relatives of U.S. military members who are undocumented immigrants to stay in the country.
Obama has said that’s as far as he legally can go, meaning Congress must act to stop other deportations. But the House is making little progress on legislation to revise immigration laws, and immigration advocates have again turned their attention toward Obama for relief from deportations.
Many felt the president could have extended the protections he gave to young undocumented immigrants to broader segments of the undocumented immigrant population. Now, Obama has been receiving that pressure from Congressional leaders who have been focused on getting an immigration bill through Congress.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the eight co-sponsors of a comprehensive bill that allows the nation’s undocumented immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship, told Politico earlier this month that the president should halt the deportations of people who could qualify for legal status under the Senate bill. Schumer’s comments have been echoed in recent weeks by other members of Congress, culminating in a meeting Thursday by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Obama.
During the meeting, the president “emphasized his deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system,” according to a White House readout of the meeting. Obama told Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., that he had ordered Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to conduct a system-wide review of the immigration system.
Gutierrez said that review “began a new dialogue” between the White House and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that he hopes will put a stop to the record number of deportations Obama’s administration has overseen throughout his presidency.
“It is clear that the pleas of the community got through to the President,” Gutierrez said in a statement. “The (caucus) will work with him to keep families together. The President clearly expressed the heartbreak he feels because of the devastating effect that deportations have on families.”
On Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he remains committed to passing an immigration bill this year. But that came a day after the House passed the ENFORCE Act, which would allow either chamber of Congress to sue the executive branch for failing to enforce certain laws, including immigration laws.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/03/13/obama-deportation-review/6396305/
I just love those “Stop separating families!” signs. Here is a more appropriate one: “Stop invading our country!” It sickens me to see the government take the money of citizens to pay for food, housing, medical care, and education for these criminals while those same citizens starve, have their houses foreclosed, and then have to live in storm drains and tent cities. This crap needs to come to an end.
I hope his motive for this is that he is preparing for his own deportation, should citizens ever regain their country.