In a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called out the Obama Administration’s abuse of advance parole authority in granting a citizen path to illegal aliens with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. President Obama had said these executive amnesty recipients would not get citizenship.
Today the Texas Attorney General’s Office, on behalf of a 26-state coalition, filed a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling blocking President Obama’s unconstitutional executive amnesty. The brief, which opposes the Administration’s motion for certiorari (i.e., a hearing on the case), argues the president exceeded his authority in attempting to unilaterally grant lawful presence and work permits to millions of illegal aliens.
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced this morning he will resign from Congress at the end of October. The Speaker leaves behind a long history of pressing his caucus to legalize illegal aliens and increase already historically-high legal immigration levels. This, and his lack of interest in fighting President Obama’s executive amnesties, led to some of the biggest clashes within the House Republican Caucus.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will not mark up Sen. Vitter’s (R-La.) Stop Sanctuary Cities Act (S. 1814) as planned today, Politico reports. Republicans are still working though differences on the measure. Sources on the Hill tell NumbersUSA that once Members agree on language, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is likely to bypass committee and move to consider the bill on the Senate floor.
The Obama Administration proposed a rule that would amnesty the illegal-alien spouses, children and parents of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) in a manner similar to the congressionally-authorized 245(i) amnesty. The provisional unlawful presence waiver under the rule would allow an estimated 272,000 illegal aliens in these categories to obtain a green card without facing the current statutory penalty - a 3-year or 10-year bar on re-entry to the U.S.
A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments last Friday in the case brought by the Obama Administration to overturn a lower-court injunction on executive-amnesty implementation. The Capitol Hill newspaper Politico predicted the case may have to be resolved in the Supreme Court since the Administration is likely to lose in the 5th Circuit.
A House subcommittee yesterday missed an opportunity to permanently defund the president’s executive amnesties. The subcommittee cleared a draft DHS spending bill that defunds the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents amnesty and the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals amnesty, but only while a related federal court injunction remains in effect. The measure does not affect DHS because the injunction imposed by Texas District Court Judge Andrew Hanen already prohibits the agency from implementing those amnesties.
At a Senate hearing this week an Obama Administration official said that nine out of 10 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) who crossed the border illegally during the border surge were placed with family members or friends in the United States. The vast majority of these minors were never eligible for placement, however, because the law Obama used to shield them from deportation defines a UAC as an illegal-alien minor without a parent or legal guardian in the U.S.
Federal District Judge Andrew Hanen issued an order requiring Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and top agency officials to appear in his court to explain why they should not be sanctioned for failing to remedy the issuance of 2,000 work permits in violation of the judge’s injunction. The order comes just days before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in a case brought by the Obama Administration to overturn Judge Hanen’s injunction.
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ordered the Administration to void and change the three-year work permits issued to about 2,000 illegal aliens after he imposed an injunction on implementation of President Obama’s executive amnesties. The judge said he was shocked this illegal action has not yet been remedied, but did not sanction the Administration’s conduct.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., introduced the Immigration Slush Fund Elimination Act, which would ban DHS from using the fees collected for legal immigration benefits to fund President Obama’s executive amnesties. In a press release, Sen. Cruz said, “The federal government should not be in the business of looting the wallets of those who followed the law and came here legally to fund the President’s illegal and unconstitutional amnesty. This bill will cut off DHS’s credit card.”
Politico reports the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Justice Department and a coalition of 26 states to comment on a three-judge panel’s ruling that temporarily affirmed an injunction blocking President Obama's executive amnesties. Supplemental briefs addressing that panel’s majority and dissenting opinions in the emergency stay case are due on June 18. Another three-judge panel within the 5th Circuit will hear arguments in the separate injunction appeal case beginning on July 10.
The Washington Times obtained new data from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., that shows 57 percent of the criminal aliens released from detention pending deportation were let go on a discretionary rather than on a mandatory basis. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau considered about 3,700 of the released criminal aliens to be “Level 1” threats – its top priority for deportation – but chose alternatives to detention such as electronic monitoring.
Under pressure from illegal-alien advocacy groups, the Obama Administration has released some aliens from detention and placed them in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. But according to Breitbart News, a report by the Homeland Security Department’s Inspector General says the agency no longer monitors some of the released aliens and over 2,000 were arrested for committing crimes after their release.
San Jose Mercury News -- Tracy Seipel
A first-in-the-nation bill aimed at expanding health care for illegal immigrants sailed through the Senate on Tuesday even as some lawmakers acknowledged that thousands of legal residents are having to struggle to access health care through the state's Medi-Cal program.
113 Republican Members of Congress signed on to an amicus brief that argues the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals should affirm Judge Andrew Hanen’s injunction against implementation of President Obama’s executive amnesties. The list includes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Va., former House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, Tex., and Sen. Ted Cruz, Tex.
The Washington Times reports that Department of Justice attorneys informed a federal judge that USCIS issued 2,000 three-year work permits under the extended version of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty after the judge’s Feb. 16 injunction. Administration attorneys were already in jeopardy of possible sanctions for deceiving the judge regarding the issuance of 100,000 applications under the 2012 DACA amnesty prior to the injunction.
WND -- Jerome R. Corsi
The Obama administration has begun implementing a program to fly to the United States at taxpayer expense unaccompanied minors from the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras if the “children” under 21 have a parent legally residing in the U.S.
The number of illegal aliens applying for driver's licenses in California has doubled the projected estimate and overwhelmed DMV workers. According to DMV Director Jean Shiomoto, the number of illegal aliens applying for the new program is twice what they expected.
Join The Fight Against Obama's Amnesty -- Add Your Name Here
The Washington Post -- Josh Hicks
The Obama administration in recent months has rolled out a new but little-known program that allows Central American immigrants who reside legally in the United States to bring family members to the country.
The new policy applies to children from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador who face harm from violence and other dangers. Admission is also possible for spouses and grandchildren of immigrants in some cases.
Rep. Paul Gosar, Ariz., and 14 other House Republicans asked appropriators developing the fiscal year 2016 DHS spending bill to prohibit funding for the president’s most recent executive amnesties. Now that the House budget resolution has passed, House Appropriations Committees will begin to draft FY ’16 spending bills after Members return from recess.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., and other House Democrats announced their new "Family Defender Toolkit," which is designed to help illegal aliens avoid deportation if they are detained by an ICE agent, and to gather the documents necessary to apply for President Obama’s executive amnesties. House Democrats have been holding events around to country to educate illegal aliens about the DAPA and expanded DACA amnesties.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hold a hearing on the Justice Department’s request to stay Judge Andrew Hanen’s temporary injunction in the case lodged by 26 governors and attorneys general against the Administration and its executive amnesties. The court also agreed to take up an expedited appeal of the merits of Judge Hanen's injunctive order.
At a hearing on her nomination to become Deputy Attorney General, Sally Yates refused to answer a Senator’s question about whether she personally considered the President’s executive amnesties to be lawful. However, citing her role as Acting Deputy Attorney General, Yates said she stands by the Administration's pleadings in cases before a federal district judge in Texas and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a report in Politico.
Responding to an information request from Senate Republicans, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency estimated it may have to hire 3,100 new staff to implement the Deferred Action to Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program at a cost of up to $484 million a year. Another 400 staff are needed to implement an expanded version of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) program.
As part of an operation targeting dangerous criminal aliens, ICE arrested 15 illegal aliens who had been given a work permit and Social Security card under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to the Associated Press. This revelation undermines the probity of DACA since it was billed as a program to help conscientious young illegal aliens get an education and eventually benefit society.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals today denied the Obama Administration's request for an expedited ruling on Judge Andrew Hanen’s injunction blocking President Obama's executive amnesties.
Join The Fight Against Obama's Amnesty -- Add Your Name Here
A group of Senators led by Chuck Grassley of Iowa introduced a bill that would disallow the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for illegal aliens given amnesty under the President’s November 2014 executive actions. “This tax credit is meant to help the working poor get into the workforce,” Grassley said. “It isn’t meant to benefit individuals who aren’t authorized to work in the United States.”
The Center for Immigration Studies published online for the first time an evaluation of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act amnesty. The publication contains a new foreword by one of the original authors that suggests IRCA’s extensive fraud will repeat under Obama’s amnesties, especially since they do not incorporate fraud protections.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday said the Justice Department will seek an emergency stay to block a federal court ruling that freezes implementation of the president’s executive amnesty. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s injunction temporarily prohibited the issuance of work permits and other documents to certain illegal aliens and blocked spending for the program’s planning.
Rosetta Stone Communications Survey, Feb. 10-11, 2015
Who should get the future jobs in Georgia? - Americans, including legal immigrants already here, Illegal immigrants already here, newly arrived legal immigrants and guest workers or It doesn’t matter, workers who will work for the lowest wage.
Americans/Legal Immigrants: 80.2%
Settled Illegal Immigrants: 5.2%
New Immigrants: 4.3%
Lowest Wage: 10.3%
Washington Times -- Stephen Dinan
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen confirmed Tuesday that illegal immigrants granted amnesty from deportation under President Obama's new policies would be able to get extra refunds from the IRS for money they earned while working illegally, as long as they filed returns during those years.
In her story, "CRS Report of the Week: The President's Immigration Accountability Executive Action," Colby Itkowitz of In The Loop writes:
Fox News -- Bruce Parker
As California battles a flood of immigrants seeking driver’s licenses after enactment of Assembly Bill 60, Vermont’s Department of Motor Vehicles has found issuing driver’s privileges to illegals can be a magnet for benefits fraud.
Associated Press -- Amy Taxin
The Mexican government on Thursday will start issuing birth certificates to its citizens at consulates in the United States, seeking to make it easier for them to apply for U.S. work permits, driver's licenses and protection from deportation.
Until now, Mexico has required citizens to get birth certificates at government offices in Mexico. Many of those living in the U.S. ask friends and relatives back home to retrieve them, which can delay their applications for immigration or other programs.
Washington Times -- Cheryl K. Chumley
New York's new identification cards for illegal immigrants go up for grabs Monday, giving the 500,000 or so individuals in the city unlawfully the chance to come out of the shadows and open bank accounts with participating institutions.
The card also gives illegals access to state buildings and a free one-year membership to enter the city's top cultural institutions, The Guardian reported.
California Healthline
Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) recently released fiscal year 2015-2016 budget proposal lacks funding to provide health coverage to undocumented immigrants in the state, KQED's "State of Health" reports (Aliferis, "State of Health," KQED, 1/9).
Last week, Brown released his $113.3 billion FY 2015-2016 budget plan, which includes several health care proposals.
Associated Press
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- California on Friday will start taking driver's license applications from the nation's largest population of immigrants in the country illegally.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles expects 1.4 million people will seek a license in the first three years of a program aimed at boosting road safety and making immigrants' lives easier.
During an interview with NPR, President Obama claimed that illegal aliens do not burden taxpayers and are not a drain on public resources.
Breitbart News -- Caroline May
New York State’s government is on a mission to ensure all the unaccompanied minors apprehended illegally entering the U.S. and transported to the Empire State receive a free education without any barriers.
“Schoolhouse doors must be open to every student in our increasingly diverse state, regardless of their immigration status—and there is simply no excuse for denying children that basic, constitutionally protected right,” New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman says.
While defunding President Obama's executive amnesty is not included in the 2015 spending bills package, it does include $948 million to help poor and unskilled Central Americans who illegally crossed the border earlier this year establish themselves in the United States.
Yesterday voters in the blue State of Oregon rescinded a state law giving illegal aliens access to driver cards by voting down Ballot Measure 88. The citizens veto referendum, which was placed on the ballot by an issue committee called Protect Oregon Drivers Licenses (PODL), gave voters an opportunity to decide whether the 2013 law (SB 833) should be implemented. Voters said “No” by a 68-32 margin.
On Thursday, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell inquiring about the "stewardship of taxpayer dollars in question during unaccompanied minors influx". In the letter, Senator Grassley said he received information about a facility run by Southwest Key Programs that includes expensive amenities.
Breitbart -- Tony Lee
Voters in Oregon are set to strongly reject a measure that would allow illegal immigrants to receive driver's licenses.
Breitbart reports that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a draft solicitation for bids “to support possible future immigration reform initiative requirements.” The October 6 notice seeks vendors able to produce at least four million immigration-related cards per year, with a possible “surge” in 2016 of 5 million additional cards.
Oregon voters will have an opportunity to overturn a 2013 state law giving illegal aliens access to driver cards. Ballot Measure 88, a citizens veto referendum also known as “Protect Oregon Driver Licenses,” will go before the voters this November after surviving legislative and legal challenges lodged by illegal-alien advocates.
54% of Texans want illegal aliens deported, and only 39% in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Amidst the ongoing border crisis, a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll has found that the majority of Texan registered voters support the deportation of illegal aliens. 54% said they either strongly agree or somewhat agree with deportations. 40% disagreed. Also, a plurality of Texans, 49%, think illegal aliens should be forced to pay out-of-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities.
The leaders of the Illinois Legislature are hoping to pass legislation that would allow illegal aliens to get a driver's license. In support of that effort, the senate's Assistant Republican Leader and a high-profile sheriff wrote an op-ed for a suburban Chicago newspaper, the Daily Herald, on Wednesday. State Sen. Bill Brady and Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran argued that the legislation would reduce the costs of uninsured claims. But a recent study by the Insurance Research Council squashes that argument.
The IRS has announced that it is implementing new rules to its procedures for issuing Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) after a report from WTHR in Indianapolis last spring shed light on illegal aliens who use ITINs to commit tax fraud. The new rules will make it more difficult for individuals to obtain ITINs and shorten the length of time that ITINs are valid.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has climbed aboard the bandwagon pushing for ID cards for illegal aliens. However under his plan, the card issued would be considered a full-fledged photo ID.
