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Old 07-28-2011, 03:44 PM
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Jeanfromfillmore Jeanfromfillmore is offline
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Default Lightning rod: Lamar Smith’s attempts to curb Obama immigration

Lightning rod: Lamar Smith’s attempts to curb Obama immigration enforcement power praised, condemned
Witnesses at a House hearing Tuesday painted two very different pictures of Texas Rep. Lamar Smith’s “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act” — or HALT — which would end the president’s ability to choose which immigration laws to enforce.
Under current law, the executive reserves the right to override certain laws, so the President can step in if “compelling” reason exists to defer a deportation or prioritize one type of immigration enforcement, but Smith’s bill would strip the Obama administration of that ability.
The bill has met with opposition from House Democrats –75 sent a letter to President Obama last week ensuring him that they will uphold a veto of the legislation and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., ranking member of the subcommittee on immigration policy and enforcement, held a press conference two weeks ago to denounce it — but Republicans and some witnesses at a subcommittee hearing Tuesday supported the bill.
Smith said the proposal responds to the Department of Homeland Security’s policy of targeting undocumented immigrants it deems dangerous while discouraging agents from going after certain immigrants, including those who have been in the country for many years.
He said the policy came to light last month, after John Morton, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, issued two directives telling officials when to exercise discretion while prosecuting immigrants.
“DHS’ plan to open the door to mass administrative amnesty is a rejection of Congress’ constitutional rights and shows utter disdain towards the wishes of the American people,” he said.
Smith said that discretion is justifiable when used responsibly, and removal could be deferred in the case of true hardship for legal immigrants on a case-by-case basis, but immigration agencies under the Obama administration have been abusing the privilege.
“This legislation prevents the Obama administration from abusing its authority to grant a mass administrative amnesty to illegal immigrants,” he said. “The Obama administration should not pick and choose which laws it is going to enforce.”
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has introduced companion legislation to Smith’s bill in the Senate and submitted his record as a witness at the hearing.
“It is astounding that the executive branch of the U.S.government has adopted a practice that allows, even encourages, individuals to exploit the loopholes of our immigration system,” Vitter said in a written statement.
He was supposed to testify but could not make the meeting because it started late.
Like Vitter, Chris Crane, President of the National ICE Council, said he supports the measure, because ICE has failed to act transparently under the Obama administration. Crane said Morton and other administrators direct agents not to pursue immigrants who aren’t deemed priority, but do so orally in order to prevent a paper trail.
But Sheila Jackson Lee said she “can’t believe” that to be true.
“I abhor criminal aliens who prey upon our citizens,” she said, but she said she can’t believe Morton would give “untoward” demands and chastised the committee for not having him represent himself at the hearing.
Jackson Lee also said she hopes the legislation does not pass, a sentiment echoed by Margaret Stock, a professor from the University of Alaska at Anchorage who specializes in immigration policy.
Stock said the President’s ability to overrule immigration laws is a narrow one, and eliminating it could hurt immigrants who are in the country legally and who have a valid need for exceptions.
“The HALT Act is costly, misguided and irresponsible,” she said.
Lofgren also called Smith’s legislation “irresponsible and blatantly political,” and said it makes sense for ICE to prioritize the removal of dangerous immigrants, since the agency does not receive enough federal funding to deport all immigrants and much prioritize how to use its resources.
“There’s nothing sinister about them,” she said. “ICE has limited resources… if we can only deport a limited number of people – around 400,000, the memos say – then ICE should focus its resources on dangerous individuals.”
And John Conyers, D-Mich., said the fact that the legislation has a sunset date of Jan 21, 2013 suggests that it is aimed not at curbing Presidential power abuse in general but at Obama in particular.
He also took a crack at the bill’s title.
“I’ve never heard the word ‘temptation’ involved in the title of the bill,” he said.
http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011...mmigration-enf
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