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Thank You Obama!
Immigrants express gratitude to President Barack Obama for action on Immigration reform.

By: PapaK Comedy

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Thank You Obama! - Video

President Obama Speech on Immigration - Obama Unveils immigration reform by executive orde
President Obama Speech on Immigration - Obama Unveils immigration reform by executive order! President Obama Speech on Immigration - Obama Unveils immigration reform by executive order!

By: Marian Santiago

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President Obama Speech on Immigration - Obama Unveils immigration reform by executive orde - Video

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Congress that began with bright hopes for immigration legislation is ending in bitter divisions on the issue even as some Republicans warn that the political imperative for acting is stronger than ever for the GOP.

In place of a legislative solution, President Barack Obama's recent executive action to curb deportations for millions here illegally stands as the only federal response to what all lawmakers agree is a dysfunctional immigration system. Many Democrats are convinced Latino voters will reward them for Obama's move in the 2016 presidential and Senate elections, while some Republicans fear they will have a price to pay.

"If we don't make some down payment toward a rational solution on immigration in 2015, early 2016, good luck winning the White House," said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, an author of the comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate last year with bipartisan support, but stalled in the GOP-led House.

With the expiration of the 113th Congress this month, that bill will officially die, along with its path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in this country illegally.

Immigration is certain to be a focus for the new, fully Republican-led Congress when it convenes in January - but there's little expectation the GOP will make another attempt at comprehensive reforms.

Instead, GOP leaders in the House and Senate have pledged to take action to block Obama's executive moves, setting up a battle for late February when funding expires for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration matters. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has promised action on a border security bill as part of that.

Whether Congress can do anything to stop Obama remains unclear, since he's certain to veto any effort to undo his executive moves. It's also not clear lawmakers could pass a border bill, or that Obama would sign it if they did.

While some congressional Republicans are arguing for action on piecemeal reforms, most advocates are resigned to waiting until a new president takes office in 2017 for lawmakers to make another attempt at a comprehensive overhaul that resolves the central immigration dilemma - the status of the millions here illegally.

"They had the best chance in a generation and they couldn't get enough support from the Republican caucus," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, an immigrant advocacy group. "It may well be that they're going to have to lose the White House and both chambers of Congress for us to get comprehensive immigration reform."

Read more:
End game: No immigration deal, just divisions

The U.S. Senate Tuesday confirmed Texas prosecutor Sarah Saldaa to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, a role that will put her at the forefront of implementing the policies President Barack Obama announced in his recent executive actions on immigration.

Saldaa, who becomes the first Latina woman to head the agency, was the most controversial out of the slate of administration nominees who appeared before the U.S. Senate in the past week. But on Tuesday afternoon, senators voted 55-39 in her favor, with no Democrats in opposition. Republicans Tom Coburn of Oklahoma (who is retiring) and Orrin Hatch of Utah also voted for Saldaa.

ICE has not had a permanent director since John Morton stepped down in mid-2013. Since then, the agency has gone through two acting directors as the administration, clashing with Republicans in Congress, has been unable to fill Mortons spot.

That was until September, when Saldaa was nominated for the job, enjoying warm words of support from lawmakers on both sides, including high-ranking Republican John Cornyn of her home state of Texas. During that hearing, Saldaa was portrayed as a vigorous enforcer of the law, based on her experience with a U.S. Attorneys Office in Texas and high-profile corruption case against a Dallas County commissioner.

If respect for the rule of law is our standard, and I think it should be, we would be hard-pressed to find a person more qualified to enforce the law than Ms. Saldaa, Cornyn said at the time, calling her tough, smart and independent.

But that friendly tone came before Obama announced executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation and offer them authorization to work. Saldaa wrote in a questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee that she supported the presidents move.

I believe that the president of the United States, as others before him, has legal authority to take executive action to address areas within the purview of the executive branch, she wrote, according to Politico. It is my understanding that the recently announced executive action pertaining to immigration was reviewed, shaped, and considered by a number of people in whom I have great confidence, including Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder.

The Republican backlash against Obamas immigration action then turned against Saldaa herself, with GOP lawmakers backtracking on their earlier support. If she is determined to help the president implement this deeply flawed executive action and refuse to enforce the law that Congress has written and has been signed by previous presidents, I cant support her nomination, Cornyn said, according to the Washington Post. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Saldana's confirmation would be "another rubber stamp for illegal amnesty."

Tuesdays vote was likely Saldaas last, best shot at the ICE director position as the Democrats majority in the Senate comes to a close. Had the vote been delayed until January, as some lawmakers had pushed for, her chances would have been slim in a Republican-dominated Congress still seething over the presidents unilateral move to enact deportation relief.

But even though Saldaa emerged with the job in hand, the hard part may just be beginning. ICE, one of the largest criminal investigative agencies under the federal government, will be responsible for carrying out the presidents deportation policy shift to focus on felons, not families while a bitter partisan fight over immigration is set to break out next year.

Continued here:
Immigration Reform 2014: Sarah Saldaa Confirmed As Head Of Immigration Enforcement Agency

President Barack Obamas recent executive actions on immigration were ruled unconstitutional on Tuesday by a federal judge in Pennsylvania, who was tasked with determining whether the unilateral actions applied to a defendant in a criminal case. Its unclear what impact the ruling will have outside of the case in civil court.

President Obamas unilateral legislative action violates the separation of powers provided for in the United States Constitution as well as the Take Care Clause, and therefore, is unconstitutional, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Schwab wrote in his 38-page opinion.The Pittsburgh-based judge concluded that Obamas executive action exceeds prosecutorial discretion because it provides for a systematic and rigid process by which a broad group of individuals will be treated differently than others based upon arbitrary classifications, rather than case-by-case examination and allows undocumented immigrations, who fall within these broad categories, to obtain substantive rights, Schwab wrote.

After months of fighting with Congress over immigration reform, Obama announced Nov. 20 his plan to act unilaterally to increase law enforcement personnel at the borders, make it easier and faster for immigrants who are educated and entrepreneurs to stay, and address the millions of undocumented immigrants already living in the United States. If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law, Obama said during his address to the nation on immigration.

Schwab, a George W. Bush appointee, is not alone in challenging the president's policies. Nearly half the nation has signed a pending lawsuit against Obama over his executive action on immigration, Politicoreported. Incoming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is leading the legal challenge against Obama. The presidents proposed executive decree violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, circumvents the will of the American people and is an affront to the families and individuals who follow our laws to legally immigrate to the United States, Abbott said in a written statement.

So far, 24 states are onboard with the legal coalition: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin, according to CNN.

Because Obamas executive action on immigration was deemed unconstitutional, Schwab wrote that the actions do not apply to defendant Elionardo Juarez-Escobar, a Honduran immigrant federally charged with unlawful re-entry after being arrested in Pennsylvania for drunk driving. However, Schwab wrote that he would consider Juarez-Escobar to withdraw a guilty plea the defendant offered in October in light of the executive action.

Read the rest here:
Immigration Reform 2014: Obama's Executive Action Ruled 'Unconstitutional' By Federal Judge