Democrats Hedge on Pushing for Deportation Changes

Wall Street Journal

By Laura Meckler

May 7, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304655304579548230493118774?mg=reno64-wsj

WASHINGTON—Advocates for immigrants and some Democratic lawmakers have been pressuring the White House to scale back deportations. But, in a twist, some are now urging President Barack Obama to hold off on any changes.

Their fear is that even modest adjustments to deportation policy, which have been expected for weeks, would fuel GOP arguments that they shouldn't pass immigration legislation because they can't trust Mr. Obama to enforce the law.

The concerns have created a division with other Democratic lawmakers and activists, who argue the president should take quick action now to scale back deportations. They are hoping for modest relief now and more sweeping action after the summer, if the GOP-led House continues to stall on legislation.

Aides say Mr. Obama has hoped to walk a tightrope: Issue changes that are significant enough to answer the demands of activists for the moment, but not so sweeping as to put off the GOP. Now, some fear any move by Mr. Obama to scale back deportations would anger Republicans while not doing enough to please advocates.

These concerns were voiced directly to the White House by an aide to Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) in a recent meeting. The aide, Leon Fresco, said the House should have until August to act on immigration before Mr. Obama takes any administrative action, one person familiar with the discussion said.

One person at the meeting said the concern was that there is little to be gained by issuing a directive just weeks before the House's intentions likely will become clear.

The White House point person on immigration, Cecilia Munoz, replied by citing pressure on the White House from activists to adjust deportation policy, these people added. Activists have staged vigils, marches and labeled Mr. Obama the "deporter-in-chief."

It was unclear whether Mr. Obama would go ahead with modest action now or hold off. Ms. Munoz declined to comment.

The discussion comes at a sensitive moment. House Republicans, who have stalled immigration legislation for a year, may bring bills to the floor this summer in what is seen as the last chance for action before November's elections. House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) has said he wants to tackle the issue and has openly mocked House Republicans who resist.

Mr. Schumer and his staff aren't alone in worrying that executive action could scuttle any effort by Mr. Boehner.

"We're at a tricky moment here," said Ali Noorani, who heads a pro-immigration coalition of businesses, law enforcement and faith leaders. "Administrative action at any level makes it harder to move legislation."

That concern was echoed by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R., Fla.), who is writing legislation tying new enforcement measures to a grant of legal status for most of the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally.

He said he didn't know whether Mr. Boehner would bring his legislation to the floor for a vote, but that he believed administrative action by Mr. Obama would kill any chances.

"One of the biggest obstacles we have here is lack of trust in the administration," he said. "Anything he does would just add fuel to that already simmering fire."

Republicans say the House isn't acting on immigration because GOP lawmakers don't trust the president to enforce the law. GOP aides say the bigger obstacle is that most rank-and-file GOP lawmakers represent nearly all-white districts and feel little pressure to address the issue, and many don't want to stage a divisive debate in an election year, with the GOP poised for big wins.

Some immigration advocates say they don't think GOP calculations have anything to do with Mr. Obama, but don't want to give them an excuse for avoiding the issue.

Other immigration activists argue that nothing Mr. Obama does will change the dynamics within the GOP. They are urging him to provide immediate relief to many undocumented immigrants who live in fear of deportation.

"I believe that I have a responsibility to help as many people as I can, as quickly as I can," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.). "So I am going to encourage the White House to take as many actions as they can, as quickly as they can."

Other activists are conflicted. "Some people don't think there is a real shot" at legislation this year, said Marshall Fitz of the Democratic-leaning think tank Center for American Progress. "I happen to think there is, which is why I'm on the fence."

Some Republicans and advocates of an illegal-immigration crackdown say that Mr. Obama would be abandoning the enforcement of immigration laws by scaling back deportations. Last month, 22 Republican senators wrote to Mr. Obama expressing "grave concerns'' with his administration's review of deportation policy.

In March, Mr. Obama directed his secretary of Homeland Security to see whether the law could be enforced more "humanely." Administration officials have said the results of that review would be ready this spring and that recommendations would be modest.

But White House officials also have left advocates with the clear impression that the president will take more sweeping action if the summer comes and goes without House action—for instance, potentially by offering safe harbor to some people in the U.S. illegally, instead of simply changing who is prioritized for deportation.

Mr. Obama told supporters at a Cinco de Mayo reception on Monday that the next two months would be critical in persuading the House.

"I need all of you to go out there and mobilize, particularly over the next two months," he said. "Tell them to get on board."

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