Well, if you think there’s not much of a difference between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, this should create some separation between the two, especially concerning immigration policy:
Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children will be able to obtain work permits and be safe from deportation under a new policy announced on Friday by the Obama administration.
The policy, effective immediately, will apply to people who are currently under 30 years old, who arrived in the country before they turned 16 and have lived in the United States for five years. They must also have no criminal record, and have earned a high school diploma, be in school or have served in the military.
These qualifications resemble in some ways those of the so-called Dream Act, a measure blocked by Congress in 2010 that was geared to establish a path toward citizenship for certain young illegal immigrants. The administration’s action on Friday, which stops deportations but does not offer citizenship or even permanent legal status, is being undertaken by executive order and does not require legislation.
What the younger immigrants will obtain, officials said, is the ability to apply for a two-year “deferred action” that effectively removes the threat of deportation for up to two years, with repeated extensions. “This is not immunity, it is not amnesty,” said Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary. “It is an exercise of discretion.”
Officials estimated that the new policy would cover about 800,000 people.
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2012.
I see its another case of Executive order from the presidents office that totally skirts congress when the president wants something but cant get them to agree on it. Completely nullifies the point of congress doesnt it?
Congress? He don’t need no stinkin’ Congress…
More election year politics by a far-left administration gone totally outside of approval by the majority of American people.
Obama is anything but far left, Colt, and I completely disagree with your assertion that the majority of Americans are against this. Who wouldn’t want more productive, tax-paying citizens?!
Blevho the point isnt about productive tax paying citizens, the point is that we have a congress that is the LEGISLATIVE branch, the one that MAKES the laws. It is not the Presidents prerogative to usurp that power from congress when they shut down an initiative that he would like to institute. There are checks and balances for a reason. As for the whole law, I’m not saying im against it. I like productive tax paying citizens, as a matter of fact id trade 100MILLION illegals who would come and work and pay taxes here for a MILLION natural born citizens that do nothing but lower the quality of life in America; again though that is not the issue I am taking with Obama on this.
I agree with Mr. Abell-executive orders are nothing more than quasi-legal ways to abrogate the checks and balances that were originally built into our Constitution. I don’t oppose this policy, but it must be passed (or not) by Congress to be rightfully codified into law.
As Congress has accumulated immigration law over the last century it has left the executive branch a wide range of latitude in enforcing the laws it has passed. Today’s actions by Homeland Security fall within the Presidents powers.
Hopefully Romney won’t bypass congress……………….that would be the diference…..
As long as the recent change in enforcement policy is within the purview of the Executive branch, there is no reason for the Congress to act. Realistically, given the current state of the Legislative branch, which basically can’t agree on anything, the actions of the President make complete sense.
Romney will, I’m sure, rush to address the issue if it becomes a political advantage to the President’s re-election, by disassembling his prior positions and stating he would have done the same thing. We all should remember, how easy the decision was by Obama to send the Seal team into Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden, at least according to Romney and other “Monday Morning Quarterbacks”.
The bigots and nativists will never comprehend this: what President Obama did is perfectly legal, sensible, and just. And long overdue: forget Bush, why didn’t the Nobel Peace Prize winner do it in January 2009?
(and don’t worry, Red Star will be voting for President Obama)
This power the president has is directly in the constitution. it was created in case of a divides congress such as now. so that work is done in case congress and the president don’t want to work together. this is done more then us Americans know about.