Monday, November 16, 2015
Just in case there is any doubt, President Obama has explicit statutory authorization to accept foreign refugees into the United States. Under the Refugee Act of 1980, the president may admit refugees who face “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion” into the United States, and the president’s power to do so is particularly robust if they determine that an “unforeseen emergency refugee situation” such as the Syrian refugee crisis exists.The power to admit refugees is a "broad discretion exercised by immigration officials," which the Supreme Court recognized in its most recent immigration case, Arizona v. United States (which dealt with SB 1070), CAP said:
Indeed, in describing the executive branch’s broad authority to make discretionary calls regarding immigration matters, Arizona seemed to explicitly contemplate the circumstances that face President Obama today. The United States may wish to allow a foreign national to remain within its borders, the Court explained, because the individual’s home nation “may be mired in civil war, complicit in political persecution, or enduring conditions that create a real risk that the alien or his family will be harmed upon return.”Also, there is a close tie between immigration and foreign relations, and for that reason, immigration policy should be set by the federal government not by 50 different state governors, "because the entire United States can suffer when a foreign nation reacts adversely to our treatment of immigrants," CAP said.
Moreover, the Court explained, America could suffer severe foreign policy consequences if the executive does not enjoy broad discretion over immigration matters. “The dynamic nature of relations with other countries,” Justice Anthony Kennedy explained in his opinion for the Court in Arizona, “requires the Executive Branch to ensure that enforcement policies are consistent with this Nation’s foreign policy with respect to these and other realities.”
Tags: doug ducey , syria , refugees , center for american progress , paris , france , arizona