Obama considers work permits for millions here illegally

[steven]

WASHINGTON — Even as they grapple with an immigration crisis at the border, White House officials are making plans to act before November's mid-term elections to grant work permits to potentially millions of immigrants who are in this country illegally, allowing them to stay in the United States without threat of deportation, according to advocates and lawmakers in touch with the administration.

Such a large-scale move on immigration could scramble election-year politics and lead some conservative Republicans to push for impeachment proceedings against President Barack Obama, a prospect White House officials have openly discussed.

Yet there's little sign that the urgent humanitarian situation in South Texas, where unaccompanied minors have been showing up by the tens of thousands from Central America, has impeded Obama from making plans to address some portion of the 11.5 million immigrants now in this country illegally. Obama announced late last month that congressional efforts to remake the nation's dysfunctional immigration system were dead and he would proceed on his own authority to fix the system where he could.

White House officials led by Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Munoz and White House Counsel Neil Eggleston, along with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, have been working to chart a plan on executive actions Obama could take, hosting frequent meetings with interest groups and listening to recommendations from immigration advocates, law enforcement officials, religious leaders, Hispanic lawmakers and others.

Advocates and lawmakers who were in separate meetings Friday said that administration officials are weighing a range of options including reforms to the deportation system and ways to grant relief from deportation to targeted populations in the country, likely by expanding Obama's two-year-old directive that granted work permits to certain immigrants brought here illegally as youths. That program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has been extended to more than 500,000 immigrants so far.

Advocates would like to see deferred action made available to anyone who would have been eligible for eventual citizenship under a comprehensive immigration bill the Senate passed last year, which would be around 9 million people. But Obama told them in a meeting a month ago to "right-size" expectations, even as he pledged to be aggressive in steps he does take.

That's led advocates to focus on other populations Obama might address, including parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizen children (around 3.8 million people as of 2009, according to an analysis by Pew Research's Hispanic Trends Project) and parents or legal guardians of DACA recipients (perhaps 500,000 to 1 million people, according to the Fair Immigration Reform Movement).

"Our parents deserve to live without the fear of deportation," Maria Praeli, a 21-year-old from New Haven who came to the United States from Peru 16 years ago, said at a protest outside the White House on Monday. "It is time for the president to go big and to go bold."

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationw...migration.html

[Yankeefan2009]

Obama doesn't care about this country's citizens one iota. Both poor and working class whites and blacks will pay dearly for this. He could give a **** as long as he gets his fame and a nice house in hollywood to hang out with his buddies after his term is over. This is going to ruin this country.

[Save Us]

The truth is that you need some immigration as our birth rates have decreased, as far as americans are concerned,,, why work when you can get paid not to? Incidentally disability claims go way up when economic conditions are less than ideal. The 6+ percentage unemployment rate is not correct either.

Anybody for this type of chaotic non documented immigration should have their community/property/area inundated with these people and then we will see how liberal you are. At least Nero made music.

[WNYresident]

WASHINGTON — Even as they grapple with an immigration crisis at the border, White House officials are making plans to act before November's mid-term elections to grant work permits to potentially millions of immigrants who are in this country illegally, allowing them to stay in the United States without threat of deportation, according to advocates and lawmakers in touch with the administration.

With this type of talk people will continue to illegally cross the border.

[Save Us]

With this type of talk people will continue to illegally cross the border.

It's so nice when our government listens to us.

[WNYresident]

If you want them to listen you need to give them something to listen to.

The Erie County Democratic Party http://www.ecdems.com supported President Obama hook like and sinker. Work on removing each registered party member from every elected seat in Erie County. Support starts at the bottom.