5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA AND IMMIGRATION
President Barack Obama will delay executive action on immigration until after the midterm elections, a bow to political pressure from Democrats in tough Senate races who had complained the action could hurt their campaigns.
1A PROMISE DELAYED
President Barack Obama had announced in June that he would act by the end of the summer to change immigration policy. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, the president chastised Congress for not passing an overhaul of immigration law and said he would now “do what Congress refuses to do and fix as much of our immigration system as we can.’’
Mr. Obama said he directed Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to recommend changes to immigration policy “before the end of the summer, and I intend to adopt those recommendations without further delay.’’
On Saturday, White House officials said that in fact there would be a delay—until after the midterm elections.
2A NEW DEPORTATION POLICY
Mr. Obama’s actions have the potential to be broad in scope—giving new protections from deportation to millions of the nation’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.
Under one possibility, people familiar with White House thinking said in recent weeks, Mr. Obama could instruct enforcement officials that a narrower group of people with serious criminal offenses, as well as those who have crossed the border recently, should be priorities for deportation. He could say that people with only an immigration violation and misdemeanors on their record would no longer be priorities for removal.
In a bolder move, say people following White House deliberations, Mr. Obama could expand the existing protections for so-called Dreamers—some 700,000 people brought to the U.S. as children—to include their parents, relatives or other people. That could extend safe harbor from deportation to millions of additional people who are in the U.S. illegally—and potentially give them work permits, as well.
3BUSINESS PRIORITIES
Mr. Obama has considered acting without Congress to make changes that businesses favor, according to people following the discussions. For instance, Mr. Obama could make technical changes that free up additional work visas for legal immigration.
Many businesses have pushed for more access to foreign workers, and so Mr. Obama’s potential move could broaden the political support for him to take the sensitive step of acting unilaterally on immigration policy.
4WHY THE DELAY?
Mr. Obama has long been criticized by Republicans for exceeding his authority on a range of matters. GOP lawmakers said he was wrong to act without Congress to extend protections to “Dreamers,’’ for example, and they said any additional action he took alone on immigration was also sure to exceed the powers of his office.
Recently, some Democrats also have said they have concerns about Mr. Obama acting alone on immigration, with some calling such a move an inappropriate end-run around Congress. Many of these Democrats are running for office this fall in conservative-leaning states; they include Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Alison Lundergan Grimes, the party’s Senate nominee in Kentucky.
5THE REACTION
Republicans say that Mr. Obama’s move merely delays what they call “executive overreach.’’
“What’s so cynical about today’s immigration announcement is that the president isn’t saying he’ll follow the law—he’s just saying he’ll go around the law once it’s too late for Americans to hold his party accountable in the November elections,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
One thing to watch is the level of protest from advocates for immigrants, who had been pressuring Mr. Obama to act, and the course they recommend voters take in the fall elections.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,’’ said Arturo Rodriquez, president of the United Farm Workers, in a statement. He said that Mr. Obama “broke his promise to the millions of immigrants and Latinos who are looking for him to lead on this issue.’’