Mitt Romney: Obama poking GOP in the eye on immigration
2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney warns President Obama against acting unilaterally on immigration reform.
By: Cbsfacethenation1
See original here:
Mitt Romney: Obama poking GOP in the eye on immigration - Video
Forget the Ebola scare and ISIS terrorists; the new big thing is the bitter immigration debate already erupting in Washington around President Obamas apparent decision to exercise executive action.
Yes, it seems the President may have finally found the courage to in the words of Sen. Mitch McConnell wave a red flag in front of a bull and do the right thing by providing administrative relief to millions of undocumented immigrants. How many is still unclear, though probably some 5 million could benefit.
Although the White House has said there is no date set, rumors are flying that an announcement could happen as soon as this week.
Roberto Alvarenga Lovato, a writer and Visiting Scholar, Center for Latino Policy Research at the University of California, Berkeley, thinks something will happen before the years end. Lovato believes the reason for Obamas action if it finally happens is not a newly found benevolence from his administration, but the Democrats need to repair damaged relations with Latinos before the 2016 Presidential elections.
The Presidents plan would allow parents of citizens or legal residents to stay in the country, as well as parents of those undocumented who came to the U.S. as children. More than 4.5 million people would be protected from deportations by this measure.
Also, the dreaded Secure Communities enforcement program responsible for the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants would be scrapped.
Nor surprisingly, Republicans have been throwing a collective temper tantrum since rumors of Obamas decision began to circulate.
The audacity of this President to think he can completely destroy the rule of law with the stroke of a pen is unfathomable to me, said Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on Thursday.
That, of course, is so much hysterical rhetoric. As Angela Maria Kelley, vice president for immigration policy at the Center for American Progress has explained, executive action is a tried and true component of immigration policy used by 11 Presidents, 39 times in the last 60 years.
Something is certain: a timid, ungenerous action by the President wont cut it with Latinos and the immigrant community.
Link:
Obama may finally act on immigration reform - NY Daily News
Immigration must be a frustrating subject for President Obama. Hes been battling Republicans those in Congress, and those trying to take his job in 2012 for years.
But now, one senses a sort of serenity about immigration for Obama.
He never has to run for election again. And the newly-powerful GOP on Capitol Hill has yet to sort itself out on a clear immigration policy and message not least because it has at least three US Senators with strong presidential ambitions (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul).
Remember how Republican presidential hopefuls two years ago got twisted up trying to out-tough-guy each other on illegal immigrants? Mitt Romneys self-deportation was classic. When Rick Perry tried to explain state tuition breaks for young illegal immigrants in Texas, the others pounced.
As Newt Gingrich said at the time, Its a very complicated situation.
Today, of course, its only gotten more complicated. Meanwhile, Republican Party leaders know they need to do a lot better attracting Latino voters, the great majority of whom (71-27 percent) went for Obama over Romney two years ago.
Soon, Obama is expected to issue an executive order removing the threat of deportation for upward of 5 million immigrants in the US illegally mainly the parents of children born in this country and therefore US citizens.
Since the US Department of Homeland Security has the resources to deport only a few hundred thousand illegal immigrants a year (of the estimated 11 million in the country today), the order in essence would move those 5 million to the bottom of the list of those eligible for deportation.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and some other Democrats say Obamas promised executive action on immigration should wait until Congress passes a funding bill, which would avert another government shutdown.
But immigration reform advocates argue otherwise, and the recent midterm election may have pushed Obama to move sooner rather than later.
Read more from the original source:
Nothing to lose on immigration, Obama pushes ahead on his own (+video)
Immigration must be a frustrating subject for President Obama. Hes been battling Republicans those in Congress, and those trying to take his job in 2012 for years.
But now, one senses a sort of serenity about immigration for Obama.
He never has to run for election again. And the newly-powerful GOP on Capitol Hill has yet to sort itself out on a clear immigration policy and message not least because it has at least three US Senators with strong presidential ambitions (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul).
Remember how Republican presidential hopefuls two years ago got twisted up trying to out-tough-guy each other on illegal immigrants? Mitt Romneys self-deportation was classic. When Rick Perry tried to explain state tuition breaks for young illegal immigrants in Texas, the others pounced.
As Newt Gingrich said at the time, Its a very complicated situation.
Today, of course, its only gotten more complicated. Meanwhile, Republican Party leaders know they need to do a lot better attracting Latino voters, the great majority of whom (71-27 percent) went for Obama over Romney two years ago.
Soon, Obama is expected to issue an executive order removing the threat of deportation for upward of 5 million immigrants in the US illegally mainly the parents of children born in this country and therefore US citizens.
Since the US Department of Homeland Security has the resources to deport only a few hundred thousand illegal immigrants a year (of the estimated 11 million in the country today), the order in essence would move those 5 million to the bottom of the list of those eligible for deportation.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and some other Democrats say Obamas promised executive action on immigration should wait until Congress passes a funding bill, which would avert another government shutdown.
But immigration reform advocates argue otherwise, and the recent midterm election may have pushed Obama to move sooner rather than later.
Originally posted here:
Nothing to lose on immigration, Obama pushes ahead on his own
In contrast to the midterm elections, Democrats are closing ranks around President Barack Obama in anticipation of him using his presidential pen to act on immigration.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was lead signatory on a letter from him and five other Senate Democrats urging Obama to act.
"Because House Republicans have not acted, we fully support your decision to use your well-established executive authority to improve as much of the immigration system as you can," the letter states.
House Democrats had sent a similar letter last week signed by 117 House Democrats.
Obama had planned to announce executive action at the end of summer but that plan has been on hold for about three months after Democratic Senate candidates became fearful the issue would hurt their campaigns. Democrats failed to keep control of the Senate anyway.
There was some expectation the president might wait until after Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu's Dec. 6 election runoff against GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy. A key issue in their campaign is expansion of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which has been on hold. The House voted to allow expansion to move forward and the Senate was to vote Tuesday evening.
Republicans have threatened to counter any action taken by the president with ideas floated from using the appropriations process to curb his actions to impeachment. Some Hispanic Republican activists have said the president should wait but also said the GOP needs to put up an alternative proposal.
In an interview with NBC News, Sen. Bob Menendez, who also signed the letter, said it was outrageous for Republicans to suggest Obama is "poisoning the well" for future immigration reform legislation when the House GOP failed to advance any legislation this past session. Obama refused to take any executive action during that time hoping to see the GOP House pass its own bills.
"I hope our community wakes up to the reality of who the people are that are creating obstacles," said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who signed the Senate letter supporting Obama on executive action over Republican objections.
"They are the ones that went to the community and said, "See Obama lied to you," yet they are the very ones who didn't vote for immigration reform and who oppose executive action. I hope our community wakes up to the reality of who the people are that are creating obstacles," said Menendez, who has for many months urged Obama to take bold action.
Originally posted here:
Dems: We Back Obama on Immigration Action