**UPDATED BELOW: Rep. Steve King to sue over policy**
FROM TIME: Shortly after Jose Antonio Vargas' story on the issue of the undocumented was published in TIME, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it would no longer deport young undocumented residents who qualify for the DREAM act. Those eligible will receive work permits.
THE ELECTION YEAR IMMIGRATION move comes after a series of articles revealed real angst inside the Hispanic community over Pres. Obama’s deportation milestone, which puts him as kicking more Hispanics out of the U.S. than even George W. Bush. It grants work permits to what are called “DREAMers,” undocumented individuals brought to the U.S. as children, allowing them to work and stay in the country legally. It secures them from the ongoing fear of deportation through immunity.
It comes as Time magazine unleashes a cover and inside article starring Jose Antonio Vargas, who lays out the U.S. immigration issue in the video below, seen on CBS “This Morning,” which has become the best morning show on TV. The article and Vargas’s story focuses on the spastic nature of U.S. immigration policy, which until today provided to path for undocumented workers, of which Vargas is the poster person. Time also takes credit for pushing the Administration on policy.
The Administration’s move also comes after weeks of team Obama fumbling the campaign message, which was made worse in the last week by failed economic efforts, leaving Pres. Obama behind it as Mitt Romney’s machine and money continue to gain energy.
Because I don’t believe Pres. Obama and his team do anything that doesn’t take into reelection advantage, this move could also signal Team Obama is betting that Mitt Romney’s going to play the Marco Rubio card through the vice presidential nomination.
It’s the move for team Romney to make and comes regardless Sen. Rubio playing coy and declaring he wasn’t interested in the vice presidential slot to protect his own power. It’s the Republican move to make, because the GOP problem with Hispanics could end up freezing them out of every national election for decades to come.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the announcement today, with estimates reported as many as 800,000 undocumented immigrants to be impacted. This from the AP:
The Obama administration will stop deporting and begin granting work permits to younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and have since led law-abiding lives. The election-year initiative addresses a top priority of an influential Latino electorate that has been vocal in its opposition to administration deportation policies.
The policy change, announced Friday by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, will affect as many as 800,000 immigrants who have lived in fear of deportation. It also bypasses Congress and partially achieves the goals of the so-called DREAM Act, a long-sought but never enacted plan to establish a path toward citizenship for young people who came to the United States illegally but who have attended college or served in the military.
Instead of focusing on Pres. Obama’s wholly forgettable economic speech, the conversation now shifts dramatically to the DREAM Act portions of what Pres. Obama is implementing, without Republicans being able to block the civil rights move.
It’s an important last leg base-pleaser for Obama, which comes on top of DADT and his marriage equality statement, as well as free contraception coverage for women, hitting three top Democratic sweet spots, with Hispanics now getting at least part of what candidate Obama promised in ’08. Team Obama knows turnout is king in an election that will be close.
Your move, Mr. Romney.
UPDATE: From the Daily Caller, Rep. Steve King told Mike Huckabee that he intends to sue the Obama administration to stop implementation of this policy.
Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King said Friday that he plans to sue the Obama administration to halt implementation of its newly announced selective illegal immigration law enforcement policy. He told Mike Huckabee on the former Arkansas governor’s radio program Friday that he successfully sued his own state’s governor — and won — over a similar separation-of-powers issue.
President Obama did it so it’s no big deal in 3,2,1……….!
How long will it take for the paperwork to go through on these illegals? Will it be in time for them to vote in the Election.
That’s why I provided links, doesn’t anyone click on them anymore?
It’s effectively immediately.
So, yes, as far as I can tell so far from what I’ve read, these soon to be documented individuals can vote in November as long as they register within state guidelines.
They still won’t be US Citizens, so they still will not be allowed to vote.
The usual repugnantklan/teabagger immediately parroted stupidly dishonest response. The plain old fact is the only documented ILLEGAL voter fraud was committed by the likes of Ann Coulter and Breitfart’s little shadow wanna bee who creates fictional “films” that the wingnutesphere then trumpet to the lame stream media as evidence.
Next he should move on the back log of judges. The power this man has that he has been too timid to use. The Repugs despise him anyway and will accuse him of abusing his power no matter what. At least they may stop calling hi a socialist for a while.
Amen.
Two words: RECESS. APPOINTMENT.
Screw the right, though Obama’s waited too long to use this tactic, which would now be seen as hyper-partisanship & parroted as such by the Beltway insider press, which finger in the wing independents would judge negatively at this point.
Indeed Ms. Marsh, indeed. If the repugnantklan/teabagger domestic terrorists insist on their continuing war on the American economy and people cut them out of the process.
Sorry, I don’t always click on all the links all of the time.(I do sometimes.) . I figured it was immediately, really, was just making a point of why he did it.
No worries, cjoblak. Few click on links anymore.
…and obviously, it was a very smart tactical & strategic move.
Great move! I know several dreamers here who are just overjoyed and are immediately applying now to stay. A big deal here in TX. Now if only O could use some of that power to recess judges, revamp some housing stuff etc..
Mitt’s in a big bnd now- does he back obama’s move, reject it at his peril?
I bet, Art, great move, no doubt, which squeezes Republicans and puts them on the grill out West.
revamp some housing stuff…
Oh, if only the Administration had made a different choice on foreclosure!
Rep. Steve King to sue:
Cute. Count on King to make a great move.
Romney should support him.
“Cute. Count on King to make a great move. ”
BWAHAHAHA! If by “great move” you mean cement the overwhelming support for Democrats among the fastest growing segment of our population(Hispanics)for all time I agree.
He should have recognized their game plan from day one.
Its all here:http://tinyurl.com/d6yowzg
At least six months into his term, but he loves abuse.
Ignoring his base and chasing Republican tail.
And to this day, the fool still thinks “the fever will break.”
Why should we reelect someone who cannot find a way to get anything meaningful done?
“Why should we reelect someone who cannot find a way to get anything meaningful done?”
Well for one thing it may be late in the game and it may be for transparently political reasons but he in fact HAS gotten some meaningful things done. And besides, your alternative is to allow someone to be elected who is shit house rat crazy?
With turns out as the goal, I would say that there is another leg to that stool, the AA leg.
Plus, it gives those constituencies some motivation to keep Obama in office, since something done via executive order can be undone just as easily.
Let’s see, my constituency wants a President who campaigned on the idea of open government to stop classifying our embarrassing and illegal behavior, and also stop prosecuting whistleblowers at record levels. Think that will happen?
Me neither.
What I don’t get is why the Justice Department is not really having a fit about all of the voter suppression going on all over the country?.
Actually, my constituency wants a lot of things, including that.
Why didn’t the Justice Department investigate the torture and rendition programs during the Bush Administration? Why, instead, did it and the Obama Administration cover for those people by continuing to classify proof of those policies and prosecuting the whistleblowers, instead?
Why didn’t the Obama Administration, instead of bailing out the banks, set up something like HAMP, but one that actually works, straight away, like the Bush Administration offered?
Why didn’t they stop deploying units to Iraq and Afghanistan, and just let those sad chapters end as quickly as possible?
I could go on, I suppose, but it seems obvious to me that these are policies that could have been put in place three years ago, since they don’t require congressional approval. Obama didn’t do these things, and the others I’m not bothering to mention this time (after all, I’m only really mad about health care, according to the Obama apologists here, so why spoil a fantasy?), because he didn’t want to, or he didn’t care enough until now.
In either case, what folks who benefit from these decisions made now need to ask themselves is, what happens in 2013 if Obama is re-elected? If he didn’t care enough to, or didn’t want to do those things before, what is the chance that he’ll continue these apparently inconvenient policies once he’s no longer able to run for President?
We used to say that character is what you are when no one’s looking. Too bad we don’t say that anymore.
Indeed.
Got a call from my Hispanic sister-in-law in Miami, FL and she’s all giddy about this move. She broke her “not letting me get a word in edgewise” rule and now owes me a box of pasteles. Win for me!
Yeah ol’ Mittens in a bit of a bind alright. But since I’m virtual campaign adviser (Comedy and Drama Division) for both Obama and Romney, here is how I’m having Romney play this:
*Cue Ann Romney lightly touching her husbands hand*
I’m a bad mamma jamma. Just as cute as I can be!
That is great to hear about your sister in law. I wonder if he could change this silly policy we have when we won’t give green card to recent graduate from our top schools using executive powers?
Too funny, T-Steel…
And then they both vault onto two Dresage Horses(which by the way each cost about three times the salary of a Teacher with a Masters degree) and ride off into the sunset.
GOP does it again like with contracpetion and sues over this.Wow Obama is having the best day he has had in 2 months
Absolutely.
I was ready to cancel my DVR of the Sunday shows, because I wasn’t going to listen to a re-hash of Obama’s god-awful speech yesterday.
Now I’ll make certain to watch Fox, as I’m sure there will be heads exploding in a perfect contagion like a fireworks display over there on this one!
Artist’s conception here. Sorry, couldn’t resist for some reason. Maybe because this whole news day seems like a cliche-ridden horror film.
I can’t WAIT to hear limpwithnoballs and the other wingnuts on AM radio having coronaries on Monday!!!
Oh and the daily caller reporter’s outburst today not helpful for the gop at all.
Obama really needs to do mroe of this sort of thing he could. It may be his only route to another term now
It will be popular with the GOP base and get the daily caller hits. Yes, it was a good move, the first good day President Obama has had in a good long while.