Posted on 07/14/2014 1:39:11 PM PDT by jazusamo
White House attorneys are examining whether the president can use executive action to “level the playing field” on immigration for business owners, press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday.
Earnest provided few details about what kind of action the president might take, but the comments offered the first insight into what type of authorities the administration was reviewing following the president's announcement he would look to act unilaterally after comprehensive immigration reform legislation died in the House.
“The question is whether or not there are additional steps that you can take to level the playing field for businesses,” Earnest told reporters. “There are a lot of businesses right now who are very rigorous about observing immigration law, and that creates an opening for some unscrupulous businesses to undercut them and to bypass that system and essentially hire undocumented labor for cheaper. That, obviously, is not playing on a level playing field.”
Earnest said it was “not fair” to business owners who were “trying to do the right thing.”
Some technology companies have suggested that the president might be able to use executive action to reduce the backlog of H-1B visas, which allow high-skilled foreign workers to come to the U.S.
That would be a major coup for tech firms, which have dumped millions of dollars in lobbying cash behind immigration reform in a bid to loosen restrictions on workers.
The press secretary said the administration was also examining what it could do “about the population of undocumented immigrants that are already in this country.”
“These are individuals who, in many cases, are largely indistinguishable from so many other Americans,” he said. “And the question is, how do you confront that challenge in a way that reflects our tradition as a country of immigrants, but also a country that enforces the law.”
It’s thought the administration is examining expanding the deferred action program announced in 2012, which allows certain children who entered the country illegally to remain. It's possible the president could expand the program to include qualifying family members of children who qualified for deferred action.
Earnest said that the options were “all very difficult policy problems.”
He also said it was “hard to tell” if the current crisis on the border would affect the reception of the president's administrative actions
“I think that we have — in some ways this is the largest sustained elevation of this storyline in the news media, at least, in quite some time,” Earnest said.
The president has asked administration officials to present him a set of options by the end of the summer, and is expected to act before the election.
Yep, it's actually illegal for the president to change existing law with an executive order.
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.
The only action people want to see right now is to close the border until we get this under control or enforce the border laws. Anyone that would stand up and say that unafraid could become the next president.
Earnest said that the options were “all very difficult policy problems
In other words, they aren’t going to do anything until they get all these future dems in place and then they hope that the press will forget about it.
I am looking for a Sally Struthers commercial asking for just $29.95 a monthe for these poor children stuck in refugee camps in the USA.
I have a novel idea. How about if you try enforcing the immigration laws?
I believe you’re correct from past performance.
Bump.
“Executive Action” is just a nice way of saying “dictatorship.” One man doing what the thinks should be done, Constitution be damned.
The press in complicit, the public is the ones they want to forget it. Soon the new season of football, American Idle, or DWTS will start and all we be fine.
Except for having no ID or fake ID. /S
The guy looks loaded.
“And the question is, how do you confront that challenge in a way that reflects our tradition as a country of immigrants, but also a country that enforces the law.”
Obviously with more laws, more regulations on business
sure, that will help.../s
So he will be telling employers that it is OK to hire illegals? This will help America get jobs how?
You nailed it.
It blows me away the way he talks out both sides of his mouth.
We have a very real employment problem but he wants amnesty for literally millions of illegals.
Still, I would like ask a question about the pro-amnesty people and their push to pass immigration reform that would give 11 million illegals a path to citizenship.
Here's my thinking: If the federal government cannot handle and process the 50 thousand to 200 thousand illegals flooding our southern border like in Texas, then how in the world is our government going to process 11 million illegals if the Senate immigration bill is ever passed?
Myself, I say that it would be an impossible task for our government to process smoothly all those 11,000,000 illegals already in this country.
So passing the Senate immigration bill giving 11 million illegals instant amnesty is wrong. It is not workable and would be a nightmare for years and years.
They are looking at the social security and Medicare funding for baby boom retirees as well as their voting base.
They will handle 11 million illegals about as well as they have handled 6 million health care sign ups.
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