Friday, August 19, 2011

Obama's Shift in Deportation Policy

The White House's policy shift would review deportations on a case by case basis and it would deport criminals first. Republicans are complaining--nothing unusual there--that the shift in policy is an end-run around Congress. Obama should do more end-runs around our blockade to progress, otherwise known as Congress.
So DHS, along with the Department of Justice, will be reviewing the current deportation caseload to clear out low-priority cases on a case-by-case basis and make more room to deport people who have been convicted of crimes or pose a security risk. And they will take steps to keep low-priority cases out of the deportation pipeline in the first place. They will be applying common sense guidelines to make these decisions, like a person’s ties and contributions to the community, their family relationships and military service record. In the end, this means more immigration enforcement pressure where it counts the most, and less where it doesn’t – that’s the smartest way to follow the law while we stay focused on working with the Congress to fix it. Read it all at the WH