USCIS last week said that about 309,000 have applied for executive amnesty under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and that 53,273 applications have been approved. Application and approval rates have increased significantly since just one month ago when USCIS had taken in 180,000 applications and approved 4,591.
A new poll from Gallup found that 62% of Americans think stopping illegal immigration should be a top priority for Pres. Obama's second term, while only 37% think providing a pathway to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal aliens should be a top priority. The poll questioned 1,000 Americans from Nov. 9-12 and asked them to rate 12 different issues ranging from the economy to military spending to immigration to the environment.
While most in the media have been shamelessly trying to railroad Congress into committing itself to an amnesty in early 2013, some media pundits have actually been saying that immigration won't solve the issues the GOP has with Hispanic voters. Columnists and opinon makers from all sides of the political spectrum have shared their thoughts on this trending topic. Here's a list of what a few had to say.
After House Speaker and Republican John Boehner made comments about moving an amensty bill through the House in 2013, many GOP Members of Congress have expressed an interest in moving immigration legislation. But several GOP Members have resisted the temptation, instead calling for more enforcement to stop illegal immigration.
In his first press conference since being elected to a second term, Pres. Barack Obama told the White House press corps on Wednesday that he will begin the process in Congress for a mass amnesty bill very soon after his inauguration. Pres. Obama said the bill would offer amnesty to the 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States, requiring them to pay fines and back taxes. Pres. Obama cited the Hispanic turnout during last week's election as his motivation for moving immigration up on his list of agenda items.
In a meeting with Progressives on Tuesday, Pres. Barack Obama promised to take quick action on immigration reform after the start of his new term in January. Pres. Obama said in interviews leading up to Election Day that not passing a mass amnesty bill during his first term was one of his greatest disappointments, but continues to be vocal about his desire to get something done in the near future.
Yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner said that it was time for immigration to be dealt with using a "comprehensive approach". Speaker Boehner isn't the only outspoken conservative now calling for an amnesty for 12 million illegal aliens. Pundits including television and radio personality Sean Hannity, tax guru Grover Norquist and many others are making similar statements. But several GOP Members of Congress and other conservatives are calling out Speaker Boehner for his statements.
Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has decided not to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens that obtain deportation amnesty and a work permit under the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Her decision sparked a protest by pro-illegal alien groups, which may challenge her decision.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said this week that 200,000 illegal aliens have applied for the Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that grants amnesty and the possibility of work permits to certain illegal aliens who claim they were brought to the U.S. at a young age. Napolitano also said that USCIS receives more than 3,000 new applications per day despite some reluctance within the illegal alien community to apply for fear of the program's future should Pres. Obama lose the election next month.
In an interview with the Des Moines Register, President Barack Obama said he is “confident” a comprehensive amnesty will pass in 2013 if he is re-elected. He also said Mitt Romney and Republicans have “alienated” Latinos and that may be a big factor in his re-election.
The Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has approved 4,591 applications for executive amnesty since the program began on August 15th. No applications have been rejected so far.
Governor Phil Bryant, on behalf of the state of Mississippi, has joined ten officers and agents for ICE in a lawsuit against DHS' Napolitano and Morton.
On October 10, congregants at a multi-denominational religious gathering in Maryland offered prayers for the DREAM Act and praise for illegal employment, but no love for the unemployed or identity theft victims.
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have restricted police from detaining illegal aliens for ICE, but signed another that gives executive amnesty recipients access to driver’s licenses. Estimates suggest that at least 450,000 illegal aliens could get driver’s licenses under the new law.
Illegal aliens are clamoring for the documents necessary to apply for executive amnesty under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Requests for record requests have strained school resources and forced some localities to add staff. Law enforcement officials and even Mexican consulates are feeling the pressure, too.
The mainstream media tuned in when amnesty advocates worried about identity thieves and frauds being left out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. But since USCIS clarified that it does not want to know about those felony crimes, the press has been silent.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued guidance under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that indicates illegal aliens can obtain a form of ID fraud amnesty in addition to deportation amnesty. A DACA applicant who has used a fraudulent or stolen Social Security Number to obtain employment does not have to reveal the felonious act on his/her work authorization form.
The Obama Administration has decided that illegal-alien participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will not be eligible for coverage under the health care reform law. Administration officials also informed states that the participants are not eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Approximately 72,000 illegal aliens have applied for amnesty under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program since USCIS began accepting applications on August 15th. The agency approved a stay of deportation for the first batch of applicants on September 10th.
Rep. Steve King, who also serves as the vice chair for the House Immigration Subcommittee, has extended his support to a group of 10 ICE agents who filed a lawsuit against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton over the issue of deferred action. The complaint, filed by the agents two weeks ago, charges that the "Morton Memo" issued in 2011 and the DREAM Directive issued in 2012 requires ICE agents to break their oath or office and violate federal immigration laws as passed by Congress.
Whew!! Regardless of your party affiliation, did you breathe a sigh of relief with me when the Republican Convention ended last night without any major speeches from the podium making calls for filling mythical labor shortages to get our economy moving, or importing more immigrants to supposedly create jobs to put Americans back to work?
The California legislature cleared a bill that would prohibit police from honoring ICE detention requests unless illegal aliens are convicted of serious or violent felonies. A number of sheriffs are now asking Gov. Jerry Brown to veto the measure. He has not taken a position on the bill, but must sign or veto it by Sept. 30th.
The organization NumbersUSA, with it's self-proclaimed stance of "for lower immigration," quickly claimed a stake in the suit, saying on its website that it was "financing the effort" of the agents' suit.
NumbersUSA also emphasized on its site that Kris Kobach, the Republican Kansas secretary of state who worked on Arizona's controversial immigration law and is an informal adviser to presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is representing the suing agents.
NumbersUSA president Roy Beck appeared on Neil Cavuto's "Your World" on Thursday, August 23, 2012. Roy discussed the lawsuit filed by a group of 10 ICE agents against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton. NumbersUSA is underwriting the lawsuit.
The Obama Administration justified its June 15, 2012 directive that allows illegal aliens who meet certain criteria to receive deferred action and work permits by its record level of deportations. The directive is the subject of the recent lawsuit filed by a group of 10 ICE agents and officers against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton. But House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith says the Administration is "cooking the books" in reporting its deportation figures.
The organization NumbersUSA, with it's self-proclaimed stance of "for lower immigration," quickly claimed a stake in the suit, saying on its website that it was "financing the effort" of the agents' suit.
NumbersUSA also emphasized on its site that Kris Kobach, the Republican Kansas secretary of state who worked on Arizona's controversial immigration law and is an informal adviser to presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is representing the suing agents.
NumbersUSA, an organization that says it is "for lower immigration," said on its Web site it was "financing the effort" of the agents' suit.
NumbersUSA's Web post also said Kris Kobach, an informal adviser to presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, represents the suing agents, CNN said.
The lawsuit is funded by NumbersUSA, a group that proposes lower levels of legal and illegal immigration.http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-08-23/ICE-lawsuit-deport/57255220/1
By Alan Gomez in USA Today
Roy Beck of NumbersUSA, the pro-legal immigration organization that is underwriting the ICE agents’ lawsuit, said the Obama administration’s immigration policies are harming U.S. workers.
"Any threat of harm to our nation's immigration officers for enforcing the law is a threat against the livelihoods of average American workers," Beck said. "Congress passes laws to determine how many and which citizens of other countries are allowed to enter U.S. job markets to compete with American workers.
Congressman Louie Gohmert talks with Fox & Friends about recent news that several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents filed a lawsuit in Texas against the Obama administration's amnesty program.
Numbers USA, which advocates for reduced immigration and opposes deferred deportation, is paying the legal fees for the agents. The group and many Republicans have criticized the program as a backdoor to amnesty.http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/08/23/159926481/immigration-employees-file-suit-against-obamas-new-immigration-policy
By Corey Dade in NPR
Kris Kobach is the lead attorney in today’s lawsuit and Numbers USA is underwriting the effort.http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/314833/suing-stop-obama-amnesty-mark-krikorian
By Mark Krikorian in The National Review Online
Numbers USA, a group that advocates for reduction of immigration, is funding the lawsuit on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents opposed to current policy. The suit goes after two key Obama policies on immigration: prosecutorial discretion to focus on criminals and repeat offenders, as well as deferred action for undocumented young people.
Numbers USA President Roy Beck said he would like to see Romney come out and say he will end the policy -- so far the candidate has refused to say how he would handle deferred action if he became president.
All summer, citizens have been crying out, 'Why doesn't somebody take this to court!' over Janet Napolitano's Dream amnesty directive. We at NumbersUSA have been looking for a way ever since the Department of Homeland Security Secretary issued her amnesty order on June 15.
WELL, THIS MORNING, ICE AGENTS CAME THROUGH, FILING A KEY SUIT TO PROTECT THEMSELVES -- AND FOR THE SAKE OF ALL AMERICANS!
And I am extremely pleased that NumbersUSA and its on-line activists have been and will be playing a crucial role in this.
Ten officers and agents for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) including ICE Agents Union President Chris Crane, today filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton challenging the Obama Administration’s deferred action Directive and associated Prosecutorial Discretion Memorandum that prevent ICE officers, employees, and agents from fulfilling their sworn oath to uphold the law and defend the US Constitution.
On August 23, 2012, a group of 10 ICE agents and officers, led by ICE Council president Chris Crane, filed suit against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton seeking an injunction against the Napolitano Directive of June 15, 2012. The Directive orders ICE agents to violate federal immigration laws or face adverse employment action. Kris Kobach is representing the ICE agents and officers, and NumbersUSA is providing financial assistance.
A number of U.S. Senators and Representatives have shown support for the 10 ICE agents who have filed a lawsuit against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton. In the suit, the agents charge that a department policy issued by Dir. Morton in August 2011 and the DREAM Directive issued by Sec. Napolitano on June 15, 2012 require ICE agents to violate immigration laws or face adverse employment action.
On August 23, 2012, a group of 10 ICE agents and officers, led by ICE Council president Chris Crane, filed suit against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton seeking an injunction against the Napolitano Directive of June 15, 2012. FOX News broke the story shortly after 12 p.m. on Thursday. The lawsuit has been filed in the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which is in the 5th Circuit.
A California DMV spokesman said Wednesday that the state will issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens who obtain deferred action under the Obama administration’s executive amnesty. California would consider these illegal aliens “temporary legal residents” in order to avoid the state’s illegal-alien driver’s license ban.
On the day that President Obama's deferred-action amnesty took effect, Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer issued an executive order re-affirming that amnesty recipients are not eligible for drivers licenses and other public benefits under state law. The governor said the deferred-action program does not grant recipients a legal status that would make them eligible for public benefits banned under a 2004 voter-passed ballot initiative.
Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security requesting documents, under the Freedom of Information Act, regarding the Executive Amnesty that went into effect on August 15. The policy, announced in June, allows illegal aliens who came to the United States before the age of 16, have maintained continuous residence, are 30 years of age or younger, and attend school or hold a high school diploma to receive deferred action and a work permit. An estimated 1.8 million illegal aliens are likely to qualify.
It shouldn't be surprising, but it IS reassuring that a union has stepped forward to try to slow down the Obama Administration's increasingly brazen unilateral decisions to ignore -- and even violate -- immigration laws. Earlier today, the union posted a petition on its website that challenges the Administration. And it has asked American citizens to sign the petition to back up federal employees who feel like they should enforce the immigration laws passed by Congress.
The Department of Homeland Security tomorrow will begin accepting applications from illegal immigrants seeking to benefit from the President’s amnesty program. On June 15, President Obama announced that his Administration will stop deporting and begin giving work permits to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the implementation of the Obama administration’s amnesty program.
