Mediaboss Marketing

A day after Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the federal district court in Brownsville, Texas, issued an injunction preventing the Obama administration from implementing itsplan to delay deportation for millions ofundocumented immigrants, the statusof U.S. immigration policyis as confused and uncertain as ever. A few ideas about what might come next are in the links below.

Welcome to Wonkbook. To subscribe by e-mail, clickhere. Send comments, criticism or ideas to Wonkbook at Washpost dot com. Follow Wonkblog onTwitterandFacebook.

What's in Wonkbook:1) Policymakers respond to immigration ruling 2) Opinions, including Wolf on the dollar3) A surprising poll on gay marriage, and more

Number of the day: 11.4 million. That's how many people signed up for health insurance plans under Obamacare this year, according to the White House. The number will likely decline as the year progresses, as people leave their policies. Jason Millman in The Washington Post.

1. Topstory: Policymakers respond to immigration ruling

An appeal could take months. "President Barack Obama's administration faces a difficult and possibly lengthy legal battle to overturn a Texas court ruling that blocked his landmark immigration overhaul, since the judge based his decision on an obscure and unsettled area of administrative law, lawyers said. ... There was no consensus among lawyers with expertise in administrative law and immigration law on whether Hanen would be reversed on appeal. But they said the judge was wise to focus on an area of administrative law where legal precedent is sometimes fuzzy." David Ingram and Mica Rosenberg for Reuters.

Primary source: The opinion.

It doesn't look as though the opinion will resolve the debate in Congress over funding Homeland Security, as some had hoped. "Dont count on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to play dealmaker in the fight over Department of Homeland Security funding. The Kentucky Republican is under intense pressure from conservatives to hold the line against President Obamas immigration actions, and he shows no signs of backing down. ... McConnell could have seized on the injunction to push conservatives toward funding the DHS while the court fight plays out. The fact that he didnt, Senate Democrats say, is a sign that McConnell wont be coming to the negotiating table." Alexander Bolton in The Hill.

Much of Obama's agenda is now in the hands of the courts. "Along with the immigration action, the fate of two of Obamas other signature initiatives a landmark health-care law and a series of aggressive executive actions on climate change now rests in the hands of federal judges. It is a daunting prospect for a president in the final two years of his tenure who believes he is on the path to leaving a lasting impact on intractable and politically perilous issues, despite an often bitter relationship with Congress." David Nakamura and Juliet Eilperin in The Washington Post.

Here's what you need to know to understand the injunction. The Washington Post.

More:
Wonkblog: Heres whats next for immigration reform

Story highlights Ana Navarro: Judge's halt to Obama's executive actions on immigration reveal they were always a Band-Aid She says Congress must do its job and craft a bi-partisan fix to the hot, ugly mess of America's immigration policy

An executive action is a temporary and limited fix. On the night President Obama announced his most recent immigration executive action, I called it a Band-Aid.

Today, we found out, the Band-Aid may not stick.

In a case brought by 26 states, a federal judge in Texas issued an injunction halting implementation of the President's executive actions: the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (or DAPA) -- which would have granted work permits and extended deferred deportation status and expanded the the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.

What the immigration ruling means

This is just the beginning of the legal wrangling over this. At issue is whether President Obama exceeded his powers and tried to legislate. This is Congress' job, and the problem, to state the obvious, is that Congress is not doing it. For decades, Congress has been talking about fixing the broken immigration system. This has gone nowhere.

On the other side, you have mounting pressure on President Obama from an increasingly frustrated Latino community and Democratic base. He made pie-in-the-sky campaign promises offering immigration reform in his first year in office. In his first two years, he had a Democratic Senate and Democratic House. He had the chance to act. Instead, he sat on his hands as the problem continued to fester.

What's worse, as part of the fight over the immigration executive actions, the Congress is now playing a game of chicken with the Department of Homeland Security's appropriations bill, set to expire in a few days, insisting on amendments to the bill that would block Obama's immigration actions.

Hill GOP emboldened after immigration ruling

Lastly, add to this equation the reality of the millions of confused undocumented families whose lives and livelihoods are in the balance, and who have no idea how this is going to end. The truth is, none of us do.

Read more from the original source:
Fix this hot, ugly immigration mess

President Barack Obama said Tuesday the law and history are on his side and he expects to prevail in the legal fight over his use of executive action to give millions of immigrants relief from deportation.

Obama, speaking at the swearing in of new Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, said he disagrees with the ruling handed down late Monday saying the president failed to follow an administrative procedure law when he took the actions.

His comments led a parade of administration officials who were downplaying the ruling and forecasting ultimate victory.

Related: Hopes On Hold: Dreamers Vent Action Over Immigration Ruling

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech at the National Press Club that the late Monday decisions by U.S. District Judge Edward Hanen must be considered as only one judge's decision. He said the issue would ultimately would be decided by a higher court and this decision is an "interim" step in the process.

Hanen's decision forced the Department of Homeland Security to cancel plans to begin on Wednesday accepting applications for the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program would shield young immigrants who qualify from deportation and grant them permission to work, both for three years. DHS also said the decision could delay the planned mid-May start of a program providing the same benefits to parents of children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents.

White House adviser Cecilia Muoz said the administration is very confident that the executive actions taken by the president after Congress failed to pass immigration reform are well within the president's authority.

"At the end of the day, we expect to prevail legally and we expect this will be a successful process," Muoz said.

"We are going to appeal. We believe we are on very strong legal footing," Muoz said.

Related: Judge Blocks Obama Policy To Defer Deportation Of Millions

The rest is here:
Obama: Law On My Side On Immigration Ruling

Latin American governments expressed disappointment this week over a Texas judges decision to temporarily halt the rollout of President Obamas executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala issued statements Tuesday regarding Judge Andrew Hanens injunction on the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was scheduled to begin accepting applications Wednesday, as well as the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program, planned for May.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson confirmed Tuesday that both programs would be suspended while the White House appealed the decision. The existing 2012 DACA program remains in place.

Mexicos foreign ministry released a statement noting that it lamented the judges decision, and warned Mexicans in the U.S. not to fall for scams that could proliferate in the wake of confusion caused by the ruling. Mexicans, who make up the majority of the U.S. immigrant population, have been the largest group of beneficiaries of President Obamas executive action on immigration thus far. Immigrants from Mexico make up about 65 percent of those enrolled in the 2012 DACA program, which grants work authorizations and deportation relief for young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Guatemala issued a similar statement of regret. The Guatemalan government profoundly laments the decision suspending the enforcement of immigration measures approved by the U.S. presidency that benefits the Guatemalan community, the foreign relations ministry said Tuesday.

Marvin Ponce, an adviser to Honduras president, criticized the political undercurrents of the decision, calling it evidence that there are political sectors fighting to torpedo decisions that alleviate social and economic pressures that overwhelm our countries, local media reported.

El Salvadors government also said it would back a prompt search for measures that promote migratory stability for all migrants that adhere to U.S. standards and whose work contributes to the economy of the country.

Migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras made up the bulk of unauthorized border crossers last summer in what the Obama administration deemed a humanitarian crisis. More than 67,000 unaccompanied children and 66,900 family units entered the country through the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2014. Congressional Republicans attributed the surge to the 2012 DACA program, saying rumors of leniency fueled unauthorized migration, but Democrats and immigration advocates said pervasive gang violence in Central America was largely responsible for the influx.

Earlier this year, the Obama administration carved out $1 billion of its 2015 budget to enhance security in those three Central American countries to stem the flow of unauthorized migration. It also launched an in-country refugee processing program in those countries to reunite children who qualify for refugee status with parents living in the U.S.

See the rest here:
Immigration Reform: Mexico, Central American Governments Lament Delay On Executive Action

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced he is set to let the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) funding expire and said it would not be the fault of the Republican Party.

The DHS funding is set to expire on Feb. 27, and Congress has yet to pass new funding for the department. The House of Representatives introduced and passed H.R. 240, which would fund the DHS for the 2015 fiscal year, but amendments were attached to defund President Barack Obama's immigration executive orders. While H.R. 240 passed the House, the legislation has stalled in the Senate on at least three occasions because of Democrats' filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recognized the filibuster by Senate Democrats and has called for the House to introduce new legislation.

"The Constitution makes it pretty clear that the House has to do its work and the Senate has to do theirs. The House has acted to fund the department and to stop the president's overreach when it comes to immigration and his executive orders," Boehner said during an interview on Fox News Sunday, noting Obama's 22 instances when the president acknowledged he did not have the authority to do issue immigration executive action.

"Congress just can't sit by and let the president defy the Constitution and defy his own oath of office. So the House acted. Now it's time for the Senate to act," Boehner said.

Boehner recognized Senate Democrats are blocking the House-approved DHS funding bill and won't even debate it. While McConnell offered senators to introduce amendments, the debate on the DHS funding has not moved forward.

"It's their (the Senate's) turn. That's the way the system works. That's the way the Constitution spells it out, and so the House has done it's job. We've spoken. If the Senate doesn't like it, they'll have to produce something that fits their institution," Boehner said.

On whether Boehner will let the DHS funding expire, he reiterated the House "has acted, we've done our job." He added, "Senate Democrats are the ones putting us in this precarious position and it's up to Senate Democrats to get their act together."

Boehner blamed Senate Democrats for jeopardizing the DHS' funding and does not understand why they will not offer new ideas to the House-approved bill. Boehner reaffirmed the House did its responsibility to fund the DHS and will let the department's funding expire. If DHS funding expires, Boehner said it will be the Democrats' fault.

Meanwhile, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., and Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., introduced a "clean bill" to fund the DHS without amendments erasing Obama's immigration executive actions.

See original here:
Immigration Reform News Today: Speaker John Boehner Ready ...