How Difficult Was It for Obama to Enact Deferred Action?

UNIVISION

By Jordan Fabian

August 22, 2012

http://univisionnews.tumblr.com/post/29966835915/how-difficult-was-it-for-obama-to-enact-deferred-action

The White House encountered internal resistance to enacting a program that would allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth to avoid deportation, according to a new e-book.

Politico’s Glenn Thrush reports in the e-book "Obama’s Last Stand" that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was initially unwilling to sign off on President Obama’s proposal that would grant a “deferred action” to nearly 1 million young undocumented, allowing them to remain in the U.S. for two years without fear of deportation.

The book provides a rare glimpse behind the scenes into inner workings of the Obama campaign and the White House, including some of the testy internal battles that have been waged. It also shows for the first time how the White House went about enacting its “deferred action” program in the midst of a tumultuous election year.

Fearing that Florida Sen. Rubio (R-Fla.) could take the high ground on the immigration issue for the GOP with his pared-down DREAM Act, White House policy adviser Cecilia Muñoz tried unsuccessfully to ask leaders in Congress to pass a bill that would have essentially implemented deferred action.

“Rubio could swoop in and steal the issue if the Democrats didn’t play it just right,” writes Thrush.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told Muñoz that he lacked the votes to do so, and according to Thrush, told her that the president should use an executive order.

The White House had been trying to get an executive order approved. But Napolitano, whose department has overseen a record 1.2 million deportations during Obama’s first term, would not sign off on such an order. Some unnamed administration officials speculated to Thrush that she was jockeying to run for Senate in Arizona in 2016, and afraid of alienating non-Latino voters there who favor tougher immigration laws.

In late May, however, Napolitano “abruptly reversed course” after receiving clearance from her department’s legal counsel and decided to approve the “deferred action” rule.

Another interesting tidbit: Democratic insiders told Thrush they viewed the Supreme Court’s decision on the Arizona immigration law as a win-win politically. It “vindicated” the administration’s position that the law is unconstitutional, while keeping in place the “show me your papers” language that could inflame the sentiments of Latino voters in Arizona. (“a massive GOP insult to legal, voting Latinos caught in the dragnet.”)

I recommend buying the e-book for $2.99 and reading the whole thing, it provides some keen insight and great reporting on the Obama campaign just as the election enters its final stretch.