Analyst's note: Absolutely must read. Executive Overreach - Yes, I think so! It is about time for Congress to stand up and stop this kind of thing. Otherwise they can just go home and find a job. We don't need to continue to pay them and provide benefits for work for which they refuse to take responsibility and act ... in our behalf. We do still have a Constitution .... will someone in Washington take the time to read it .... please ... while we still have a Republic? You will note the DHS Announces Amnesty-In-Place for Certain Illegal Aliens Below the Age of 31.
President Obama said Friday the United States will stop deporting hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants and give them work permits, a move praised fellow Democrats but criticized by Republicans on Capitol Hill who said the administration has side-stepped the country’s legislative process.
The executive order will apply to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. before they were 16 and are younger than 30. They also must have no criminal record, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have graduated from a U.S. high school or have earned a GED, or served in the military.
“These are young people who study in our schools and play on our playgrounds,” the president said. “They are Americans in every single way but one – on paper.”
Those now eligible also can apply for a work permit that will be good for two years with no limits on how many times it can be renewed.
The change is expected to impact roughly 800,000 illegal immigrants.
The election-year announcement was met with surprise and question by several GOP lawmakers.
“This is another example of executive overreach,” Florida GOP Rep. Allen West told Fox News.
West said he just learned about the policy change Friday morning and that such a move should have come through legislation on Capitol Hill where it could be debated.
“That’s how we do business in the United States,” said West, R; Fla.
New York GOP Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, vowed an “immediate review" into the possibility that the Department Of Homeland Security will direct U.S. Border Patrol agents to conduct selective enforcement.
[....] An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll last month found Obama leading Romney among Hispanic voters 61 percent to 27 percent.
[....] Under the administration’s plan, immigrants whose deportation cases are pending in immigration court will have to prove their eligibility for a reprieve to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will begin dealing with such cases in 60 days. Any immigrant who already has a deportation order and those who never have been encountered by immigration authorities will deal with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Last year, Napolitano announced plans to review about 300,000 pending deportation cases and indefinitely suspend those that didn't meet department priorities. So far, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reviewed more than 232,000 cases and decided to stop working on about 20,000. About 4,000 of those 20,000 have opted to keep fighting in court to stay in the United States legally. For the people who opted to close their cases, work permits are not guaranteed."
