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For years the administration had said it didn’t have the authority to make such a move, saying it couldn’t decide to stop deporting wide categories of people on its own without approval fromCongress.
But on Friday President Obama says administration now interprets the law to give it the discretion.
“Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people,” Mr. Obama said in an appearance in the White House Rose Garden. “Over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.”
Mr. Obama said the action was meant to be a temporary fix for our “broken immigration system” and urged Congress to pass a more permanent solution such as the DREAM Act.
“This is not amnesty,” Mr. Obama said. “This is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely, while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people. It is the right thing to do.”
Mr. Obama angrily shot down a reporter for the conservative Daily Caller who interrupted his remarks with the question, “Why do you favor foreigners over American workers?”
Later in the remarks, the president seemed to address the reporter: “In answer to your question, this is the right thing to do for the American people.”
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she would institute the law with discretion.
“Our nation’s immigration laws must be enforced in a firm and sensible manner,” she said in a statement announcing the move. “But they are not designed to be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual circumstances of each case. Nor are they designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. Discretion, which is used in so many other areas, is especially justified here.”
Her move grants “deferred action” — meaning the department will no longer pursue deportations for those who qualify.
The decision is an effort to go around Congress, which has repeatedly failed to pass a bill granting legal status to this category of illegal immigrants. That type of legislation is usually called the Dream Act, though details vary depending on the version.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, said the new amnesty will become “a magnet for fraud,” and will end up letting jobs go to current illegal immigrants.
“How can the Administration justify allowing illegal immigrants to work in the U.S. when millions of Americans are unemployed?” Mr. Smith said. “President Obama and his administration once again have put partisan politics and illegal immigrants ahead of the rule of law and the American people.”
But Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who has been among the most vociferous supporters of legalization, called the decision “an historic humanitarian moment.”
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And Rep. David Rivera, Florida Republican, introduced a version several weeks ago that would grant a multi-tier path to citizenship to a much narrower category than the administration. His legislation would apply only to students who have graduated high school and are attending a four-year college, and they would only earn a path to citizenship if they earned a degree from the college.
• Susan Crabtree and Seth McLaughlin contributed to this report.
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