Administrative Amnesty: Unjust, Costly, and an Incentive for More Illegal Immigration
Photo Credit: Fibonacci blue
Abstract
Leaders in Congress have called for greater enforcement of U.S. immigration law, while President Barack Obama continues to call for legalization of millions of illegal immigrants. Deportations, particularly interior enforcement, have decreased dramatically under President Obama, who has made clear his support for granting legal status to those who are in the country unlawfully. Recent press reports indicate that the President is inclined to issue a memo like the Department of Homeland Security’s June 15, 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) memo for a large subset of the illegal immigrant population, perhaps up to 5 million. That would be a mistake for three primary reasons: It is unjust, it is costly, and it will not work to stop illegal immigration.
President Barack Obama is considering using prosecutorial discretion to effectively legalize millions of illegal immigrants. Doing so would be unjust and costly and would encourage more illegal immigration.[1] Congress should discourage the Administration from considering this divisive and unproductive step, which would only make it more difficult to implement suitable, feasible, and just immigration reforms and more robust and effective border security.
Background
Current U.S. law, written and passed by Congress and signed by the President, makes it unlawful for foreign nationals to enter or stay in the country without authorization.[2] Despite this clear provision of law, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimated that about 11.4 million people lived in the United States without authorization in January 2012.[3] Deportations, particularly interior enforcement, have decreased dramatically under President Obama,[4] and he has made clear his support for granting legal status to those who are in the country unlawfully.[5]
The Department of Homeland Security issued the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) memorandum on June 15, 2012. DACA purported to set prosecutorial priorities and grant relief to each individual who (1) came to the U.S. under the age of 16; (2) continuously resided in the U.S. for at least five years before the date of the memo; (3) is currently in school, has graduated from high school, has a GED, or is an honorably discharged veteran; (4) has not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or multiple misdemeanors or otherwise poses a threat; and (5) is not above the age of 30.[6]
In early 2013, debate began on a comprehensive immigration bill that would include an amnesty for most of the unlawful immigrant population. The U.S. Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744) in June 2013.[7] In January 2014, the leadership of the House of Representatives issued “principles” for immigration reform[8] that included a general legalization much like S. 744.[9]
Since the issuance of the DACA memo and during debate over a larger amnesty, the number of people unlawfully crossing the U.S. border has increased significantly.[10] Many are turning themselves in, believing that they could qualify for deferred action even though the memorandum requires continuous residence since at least June 15, 2007.[11] Even if they do not qualify for DACA, lax enforcement in general means that most illegal immigrants will not be deported once they enter the interior of the U.S.[12] President Obama and some in Congress sought to advance a comprehensive bill, but momentum for such a measure has collapsed, in part as a result of the massive influx of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border of the United States.
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Daily Signal: How the Border Crisis Reached Suburban Virginia
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Photo Credit: AP
By Tony Lee.
On Wednesday, Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) warned that if President Barack Obama grants temporary amnesty and work permits to millions of illegal immigrants, he will destroy America’s middle class.
In a Wednesday op-ed for the Detroit News, Miller wrote that “middle- and working-class Americans cannot survive and thrive in a labor marketplace skewed by unskilled, low-wage workers who are here illegally.”
“And our taxpayers cannot bear the burden of providing services – education, health and welfare – to millions of illegals,” she continued.
Lawmakers like Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) have emphasized that massive grants of amnesty only make it more difficult for American workers, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder, to find jobs.
Moreover, governors and local officials have complained that they do not have the resources to take care of the illegal immigrants that the federal government is dumping in their communities. The Congressional Budget Office last year concluded that the Senate’s comprehensive amnesty bill would lower the wages of American workers for a decade.
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