The Hill
By Mario Trujillo
May 16, 2014
Homeland
Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is offering the first clues of steps the
administration could take on immigration through executive action.
Johnson
in a Thursday night interview with PBS said that any immigration reform
done by the executive branch must be careful "not to pre-empt
Congress." But he also made
it clear the administration is interested in changing a controversial
program used in deportations that has been criticized by police.
Speaker
John Boehner (R-Ohio) has repeatedly said distrust of President Obama
is the reason immigration reform legislation cannot move through the
House. Republicans are
wary of Obama making any changes to immigration law without Congress.
But
the White House is also under pressure from immigration supporters to
take action on deportations. Such action could also excite parts of the
Democratic base ahead
of the midterm elections.
Immigration
advocates and some Democrats have pressed the administration to use its
power to slow the deportation rate, similar to a move made in 2012 to
deprioritize
deportations of children brought to the country illegally.
President
Obama ordered a review of immigration policies in March. Johnson said
the department must stay within the confines of what the executive
branch can do without
lawmakers' help.
"They
are the lawmakers. Whatever we do in the executive branch, we have to
do within the confines of existing law. So we have a fair amount of
discretion when it comes
to how we prioritize our enforcement activities," he said.
The
Homeland Security secretary, refering to the Secure Communities
fingerprint program, told PBS that "it will and it should" be reformed
in the near term.
"The
program has become very controversial," Johnson said on PBS. "And I
told a group of sheriffs and chiefs that I met with a couple days ago
that I thought we needed
a fresh start. And this is a conversation I have been having with a
number of mayors and governors."
The
program requires local police to share the fingerprints of people
arrested so they can be checked against the immigration database for
possible deportation. The program
has received criticism from all sides, with some cities saying they
might refuse to hold detainees who are found to be illegal immigrants
for possible deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Obama
and Johnson met with a group of law enforcement officials earlier this
week and signaled that they could issue a new directive by the end of
the month.
"In
my judgment, Secure Communities should be an efficient way to work with
state and local law enforcement to reach the removal priorities that we
have, those who are
convicted of something," Johnson said.
In
March, Obama directed the DHS to review the administration's
enforcement of deportation laws to see if they could be made more
humane.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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