Wall Street Journal
By Laura Meckler
May 28, 2014
WASHINGTON—President
Barack Obama has ordered a delay in an administration review of
deportation policy in hopes that the House of Representatives will take
up the larger
immigration overhaul this summer, in what is seen as the last chance
for action this year and maybe beyond.
The
decision puts the focus squarely on House Republicans, who must decide
whether to bring legislation to the House floor before Congress breaks
for its annual August
recess.
This
spring, Mr. Obama directed his secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh
Johnson, to look for more "humane" ways to enforce federal immigration
law, a response to complaints
from immigration advocates about record deportations.
But
Republicans have said they don't trust Mr. Obama to enforce any law
that they may pass, with administrative action to alter deportation
policy likely to have fed those
complaints.
Administration
officials said the president ordered the delay to remove any excuse for
inaction. "The president didn't want the discussion of the secretary's
review to
interfere with the possibility of action in the House," a White House
official said.
The delay was first reported by the Associated Press.
Some
activists have been pressuring the White House to change deportation
policy without delay, but the president received backup for his approach
on Tuesday, when several
pro-immigration groups issued a statement urging him to wait until the
legislative window has passed.
"We
strongly urge President Obama and his administration to allow for this
process to take place before issuing administrative action. We believe
the president should
move cautiously and give the House leadership all of the space they may
need to bring legislation to the floor for a vote," the statement said.
The
statement came from the National Hispanic Christian Leadership
Conference, National Immigration Forum, Service Employees International
Union, Sojourners, the Leadership
Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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