Millions could be shielded by Executive Action for Long-Term Illegal Aliens

CIS — This is the second report to examine the characteristics of populations that have been suggested as potential beneficiaries for legalization through the executive action reportedly being planned by the Obama administration. This action could shield hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of illegal aliens living in the United States, as a substitute for the formal legislative amnesty that the president and his allies were unable to push through Congress. Since almost the beginning, the Obama presidency has distinguished itself through the number and expansive nature of its executive actions taken on immigration matters. Many of them have been created out of whole cloth as a way of circumventing the legislative prerogatives of our Congress, thus rendering them both constitutionally and legally suspect. In our view, they have also harmed the national interest and public safety — not only by eroding the rule of law and disadvantaging those using the legal immigration system, but also more specifically by legalizing illegal aliens who have harmed others. Pro-amnesty organizations have suggested a number of ways the president might unilaterally implement “programs” within the executive branch to shield selected portions of the illegal alien population, along with estimates of how many individuals each method (or combination of methods) might affect. These options were outlined in a report issued by the Migration Policy Insitute. [Read More]