Reuters
By Julia Edwards and Richard Cowan
April 24, 2014
(Reuters)
- The White House is considering small steps in the near term to ease
the threat of deportation for some undocumented immigrants, but
advocates in communication
with the administration expect President Barack Obama to make bigger
changes later in the year.
With
legislation to reform U.S. immigration policy stalled in Congress,
Obama has come under increasing pressure from the immigrant community to
take executive action
to curb the rate of deportation that has reached a record level under
his presidency.
In
the coming weeks, an Obama-ordered review of deportation enforcement at
the Department of Homeland Security is expected to conclude that
certain steps should be taken
to ensure that some immigrants who have not committed serious crimes
should be allowed to remain in the United States, according to several
sources familiar with the review.
Those
steps could include shortening the time period an immigrant is
considered "new" and therefore under increased scrutiny for deportation,
deeper background checks
of detainees in considering whether they should be deported, and
protecting immigrants serving in the U.S. military from deportation.
That
would fall short of demands from immigration advocates who have asked
Obama, among other things, to expand his deferred action program that
currently protects children
brought to the country by their undocumented parents. Advocates' wish
lists also include government-issued IDs or work permits for immigrants
who are not seen as a high priority for deportation.
Advocates
interviewed by Reuters said they believe, based on conversations with
administration officials, that the administration will act on these
larger, more controversial,
issues later in the year, should Congress take no steps to further the
reform bill.
"Most
people are expecting a two step process. One which is initial
enforcement reforms ... small steps, and then a second stage in which
they tackle the bigger issues
that advocates are pushing," said Frank Sharry, founder and executive
director of America's Voice, an advocate group for immigration reform.
The
White House would not confirm what changes it might make to deportation
policy. Department of Homeland Security spokesman Peter Boogaard said
the agency's review of
deportation policy has been a "very rigorous and inclusive process"
that has included views from various stakeholders and members of
Congress from both sides of the aisle.
Obama
has repeatedly insisted that the type of broad immigration overhaul
that he envisions needs congressional action. He told a news conference
last Friday that his
team would "review it one more time to see if there's more that we can
do to make it more consistent with common sense."
But
the White House may risk upsetting a core faction of the Democratic
base going into November's midterm election if immigration reform has
made few gains.
"If
Congress does nothing, it is unavoidable, it becomes required, for the
president to do something," said Clarissa Martinez-De-Castro, director
of immigration and civic
engagement at National Council of La Raza. "The pressure on the White
House is going to mount."
On the other hand, Obama also risks a backlash from Republicans for even small changes to immigration policy.
Twenty-two
Republican senators on Thursday wrote to Obama to express their
concerns with the immigration enforcement changes that he might be
considering.
The
administration's "changes under consideration would represent a near
complete abandonment of basic immigration enforcement and discard the
rule of law and the notion
that the United States has enforceable borders," they wrote.
The
letter was signed by some of the Senate's most conservative
Republicans, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,
who is thought to be in a tough re-election fight this year, also
signed the letter.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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