Reversing course in a final, desperate effort to pass a mass amnesty/immigration increase bill this year, President Obama reportedly has told Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to delay the administration’s review of immigration enforcement policies. Just a week ago, Johnson had said they were close to making two changes to allow more illegal aliens to stay in the U.S.: expanding the deferred action program (“DREAMers”) to include relatives, and weakening the Secure Communities program so that local police would only hold “violent” or “serious” criminals for ICE. Alien advocates had been demanding these actions as a minimum next step until a full, mass amnesty for illegal aliens could be obtained, either legally by congressional action, or extra-legally by Obama edict.
The recent expose of mass releases by ICE of criminal illegals, and the resulting negative publicity and GOP lawmaker criticism, may have played a role in Obama’s decision to hold off on any further unilateral changes to immigration policy. Many Republican leaders have said they will not move forward on immigration legislation if Obama cannot be trusted to enforce the nation’s immigration laws and takes any more unilateral actions.
Posted by Lewis Hubbard 5/28/14