Obama's lowest priority: some deportation cases

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 8/23/11 | Debra J. Saunders

[SmithL]

President Obama is in a pickle. Immigration enforcement actually is working - or, at least, it was working.

Under the Obama administration, the government has removed almost 400,000 illegal immigrants annually. That's 4 percent of the 10 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in America - and it sends a warning to those thinking of illegally entering the United States.

Thanks to the Secure Communities program, which requires local law enforcement to share arrestees' fingerprints with Washington, about half of those deported have criminal records. According to the administration, the vast majority of the rest either re-crossed the border after deportation or were recently caught.

So what did the White House announce last week? On Thursday, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz blogged that the Department of Homeland Security will review its entire deportation caseload - that's 300,000 cases - to "clear out low priority" cases and "make more room to deport people who have been convicted of crimes or pose a security risk."

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told the New York Times that the policy would protect youths with clean criminal records whose parents brought them into the country when they were minors. That is, he likened the Obama policy to his proposed legislation, the Dream (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act.

Actually, the Obama policy goes much further than shielding minors. Under the guise of "prosecutorial discretion," a Department of Homeland Security memo advises officials to consider a number of "positive factors" before prosecuting offenders. "Positive factors" include military service, "long-time lawful permanent" residency, "minors and elderly individuals," nursing, pregnant and disabled.

[paul51]

zero implements the dream act and congress says zilch

[Truth29]

The highest “positive factor” is obviously willingness to vote for Obama - several times.

[Jack Hammer]

If these cases are lower than Obama’s concerns for the economy, they’re low, indeed.

[HiJinx]

Ping!