Los Angeles Times (Article by Laura Nelson): Hours after the Obama administration announced a change in immigration policy that would allow some young illegal immigrants to work legally in the United States, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer blasted the order as “blatant political amnesty.”
"This was an outrageous announcement ... that intends to grant back-door amnesty," Brewer said at a news conference Friday. "It doesn't take a cynic to recognize this action for what it is: blatant political pandering."
Obama’s executive order stops the deportation of some illegal immigrants younger than 30. Effective immediately, those who can prove they arrived before age 16 and have gone through school or the military will be able to apply for work permits, provided they have no criminal history and do not pose a security threat, the Homeland Security Department announced.
“It is not immunity. It is not amnesty,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters Friday. “It is an exercise of discretion to … ensure that we are not clogging the immigration system with low-priority cases involving productive young people.”
The move comes days before the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of Arizona’s tough immigration law, State Bill 1070. Among other things, SB 1070 makes it a state crime to be an illegal immigrant, and requires law enforcement officials to verify someone’s immigration status during traffic stops.
Brewer said she saw a direct connection between Friday’s announcement and the impending Supreme Court ruling.
“The crux of SB 1070 is documentation,” Brewer said. “[Obama is] going to give documentation to nearly 1 million people who have arrived in the country illegally. The timing is unbelievable."
Brewer has been an outspoken critic of plans that would allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country, and of the Obama administration’s immigration policy in general. In one memorable exchange, Brewer was seen brandishing a finger at Obama as he arrived on the tarmac of an Arizona airport, an incident that ended with Obama making a brief response and walking away.
In comments from the White House Rose Garden on Friday afternoon, Obama argued there is no harm in empowering many “dreamers” who are brought to the United States as children and are Americans in “every single way but one: on paper.”
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