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The U.S. Senate Tuesday confirmed Texas prosecutor Sarah Saldaa to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, a role that will put her at the forefront of implementing the policies President Barack Obama announced in his recent executive actions on immigration.

Saldaa, who becomes the first Latina woman to head the agency, was the most controversial out of the slate of administration nominees who appeared before the U.S. Senate in the past week. But on Tuesday afternoon, senators voted 55-39 in her favor, with no Democrats in opposition. Republicans Tom Coburn of Oklahoma (who is retiring) and Orrin Hatch of Utah also voted for Saldaa.

ICE has not had a permanent director since John Morton stepped down in mid-2013. Since then, the agency has gone through two acting directors as the administration, clashing with Republicans in Congress, has been unable to fill Mortons spot.

That was until September, when Saldaa was nominated for the job, enjoying warm words of support from lawmakers on both sides, including high-ranking Republican John Cornyn of her home state of Texas. During that hearing, Saldaa was portrayed as a vigorous enforcer of the law, based on her experience with a U.S. Attorneys Office in Texas and high-profile corruption case against a Dallas County commissioner.

If respect for the rule of law is our standard, and I think it should be, we would be hard-pressed to find a person more qualified to enforce the law than Ms. Saldaa, Cornyn said at the time, calling her tough, smart and independent.

But that friendly tone came before Obama announced executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation and offer them authorization to work. Saldaa wrote in a questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee that she supported the presidents move.

I believe that the president of the United States, as others before him, has legal authority to take executive action to address areas within the purview of the executive branch, she wrote, according to Politico. It is my understanding that the recently announced executive action pertaining to immigration was reviewed, shaped, and considered by a number of people in whom I have great confidence, including Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder.

The Republican backlash against Obamas immigration action then turned against Saldaa herself, with GOP lawmakers backtracking on their earlier support. If she is determined to help the president implement this deeply flawed executive action and refuse to enforce the law that Congress has written and has been signed by previous presidents, I cant support her nomination, Cornyn said, according to the Washington Post. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Saldana's confirmation would be "another rubber stamp for illegal amnesty."

Tuesdays vote was likely Saldaas last, best shot at the ICE director position as the Democrats majority in the Senate comes to a close. Had the vote been delayed until January, as some lawmakers had pushed for, her chances would have been slim in a Republican-dominated Congress still seething over the presidents unilateral move to enact deportation relief.

But even though Saldaa emerged with the job in hand, the hard part may just be beginning. ICE, one of the largest criminal investigative agencies under the federal government, will be responsible for carrying out the presidents deportation policy shift to focus on felons, not families while a bitter partisan fight over immigration is set to break out next year.

Continued here:
Immigration Reform 2014: Sarah Saldaa Confirmed As Head Of Immigration Enforcement Agency

President Barack Obamas recent executive actions on immigration were ruled unconstitutional on Tuesday by a federal judge in Pennsylvania, who was tasked with determining whether the unilateral actions applied to a defendant in a criminal case. Its unclear what impact the ruling will have outside of the case in civil court.

President Obamas unilateral legislative action violates the separation of powers provided for in the United States Constitution as well as the Take Care Clause, and therefore, is unconstitutional, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Schwab wrote in his 38-page opinion.The Pittsburgh-based judge concluded that Obamas executive action exceeds prosecutorial discretion because it provides for a systematic and rigid process by which a broad group of individuals will be treated differently than others based upon arbitrary classifications, rather than case-by-case examination and allows undocumented immigrations, who fall within these broad categories, to obtain substantive rights, Schwab wrote.

After months of fighting with Congress over immigration reform, Obama announced Nov. 20 his plan to act unilaterally to increase law enforcement personnel at the borders, make it easier and faster for immigrants who are educated and entrepreneurs to stay, and address the millions of undocumented immigrants already living in the United States. If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law, Obama said during his address to the nation on immigration.

Schwab, a George W. Bush appointee, is not alone in challenging the president's policies. Nearly half the nation has signed a pending lawsuit against Obama over his executive action on immigration, Politicoreported. Incoming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is leading the legal challenge against Obama. The presidents proposed executive decree violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, circumvents the will of the American people and is an affront to the families and individuals who follow our laws to legally immigrate to the United States, Abbott said in a written statement.

So far, 24 states are onboard with the legal coalition: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin, according to CNN.

Because Obamas executive action on immigration was deemed unconstitutional, Schwab wrote that the actions do not apply to defendant Elionardo Juarez-Escobar, a Honduran immigrant federally charged with unlawful re-entry after being arrested in Pennsylvania for drunk driving. However, Schwab wrote that he would consider Juarez-Escobar to withdraw a guilty plea the defendant offered in October in light of the executive action.

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Immigration Reform 2014: Obama's Executive Action Ruled 'Unconstitutional' By Federal Judge

Jeb Bush may be the Republican Partys solution to its deficit among Hispanic voters. But first Bush, who speaks Spanish, is married to a Mexican-American woman and has called illegal immigration an act of love, would have to survive the GOP primary.

How Bush runs as a compassionate and pragmatic-minded ally of the Hispanic community while convincing his partys vocal conservative base that comprehensive immigration reform is a worthy cause will be a central challenge of his increasingly likely campaign for the White House.

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After the 2012 election, which saw GOP nominee Mitt Romney receive just 27 percent of the fast-growing Hispanic vote, top Republicans worried their party could be locked out of the White House for a generation if it didnt improve its standing among minorities. In the previous presidential election, George W. Bush, a former Texas governor, picked up over 40 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Those close to Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor who announced Tuesday that hes actively exploring a presidential run, believe that, like his brother, hed tap into a deep vein of potential Hispanic support in a way few other would-be Republican 2016 hopefuls can. Bush received a majority of that communitys vote in his 1998 and 2002 campaigns for Floridas highest post.

I think Jeb would be a game-changer with Hispanics, said Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist in Florida and a Bush ally. You see, Jeb is not only completely bilingual, he is bi-cultural He has both the cultural sensitivity and a strong lifelong record on issues affecting Hispanics.

In an interview with a Florida TV station Tuesday, Bush expressed confidence that his stance on immigration wouldnt cost him.

You gotta protect the borders, enforce the law, be respectful of the rule of law, and at the same time, be able to encourage young, aspirational people to come to our country. Its a win-win, Bush said. I have no problems advancing that idea.

At a time when many in the GOP including some of Bushs potential primary rivals have adopted a harsh tone in addressing illegal immigration, many in the party regard Bush as a quiet voice who has succeeded in not offending Hispanics.

The tone that he uses, the way he conducts himself, helps him get his point across, said Republican Luis Fortuno, a former Puerto Rico governor. Its a trait he has an ability to put himself in the shoes of his audience.

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