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Is there an Obama connection to The (so-called) Resistance to the Trump administration? The Washington Free Beacons Adam Kredo provides a case study in the matter of Michael Flynn.

More generally, Paul Sperry asserts the existence of an Obama connection to The (so-called) Resistance in the New York Post column Obama is scheming to sabotage Trumps presidency. Sperry argues that the Obamas sabotage is to be conducted via a network of leftist nonprofits led by Organizing for Action, an outfit that dates back to President Obamas third day in office.

In 2014, the Washington Posts Philip Bump questioned how much longer Organizing for America would last. As the March of Dimes has endured the defeat of polio, so Organizing for America survives Obamas second term. The cause is eternal.

Sperry asserts that Organizing for America is working from a growing war chest. Im curious about that. The left is certainly long on money. Funding is never an issue in their quest to maintain power. George Soros may or may not be in the background, although he frequently is. Aaron Klein puts him in the foreground of a new anti-Trump protest movement calling itself Indivisible. The Winter issue of City Journal carries Stefan Kanfers timely profile of Soros with an eye to explaining his dystopian vision.

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The Obama connection, &c. - Power Line (blog)

Updated | Houserepresentatives voted on Thursdayto reverse an Obama administration regulation that blocks states from withholding federal family-planning dollars from Planned Parenthood affiliates and other health centers that provide abortions.

President Barack Obama made the decision about Title X funding, the federal family-planning program introduced under President Richard Nixon, in the final days of his presidency.The rule, which went into effect two days before Trump took office, states that state and local government must distributefederal family-planning funds, which cover health care services including contraception, STD testing, cancer screenings, breast exams and fertility treatment, to relevant health centers, even if they perform abortions. However, no federal funding goes toward paying for abortion procedures in the U.S.

House representatives voted 230 to 188 to overturn the rule, outlined in resolution, H.J. Res 43. Two Republicans voted against the resolution, whole two Democrats voted in favor of it. The resolution will now undergo a vote in the Senate; if passed, it will reach the desk of President Donald Trump.

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Buoyed by a wave of anti-abortion legislation introduced into state legislatures this year and emboldened by Trumps determination to appoint an anti-abortion judge to the vacant Supreme Court seat, the House will vote to strike down that rule, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement. Ryan said the House woulduse the Congressional Review Act to reverse the rule.

Related: Oklahoma bill would require men to give permission for abortion

Rolling back the rule on qualifications for Title X is dangerousit could prevent millions of people across the country from getting the health care they need," Dr. Willie Parker, board chair at Physicians for Reproductive Health, said in a statement on Thursday. "The people who rely on Title X fundingincluding people of color, people with low incomes, and those who live in rural areasalready face obstacles to getting health care.

This rule will strengthen access to essential services like cancer screenings and contraception for some of the most vulnerable patients in this country, Dr. Karen A. Scott, chief medical officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement after the rule was approved last year.

The new resolutions co-sponsors instead want Title Xfunding to be redirected to just health centers that do not provide abortion services. However, reproductive rights advocates say that might be difficult, as manyclinics that provide women's and reproductive health services also perform abortions. Planned Parenthood affiliates account for roughly 10 percent of health clinics that receive Title X money, although those centers treat about one-third of people that receive services covered under the law, The News York Timesreports.

Ryan says the current rule effectively forces states to fund abortion services through Planned Parenthood. House MajorityLeader Kevin McCarthy also saidin a statement that the rule forces states to administer Title X health care funding to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.Reversing the morally reprehensible rule fulfills two promises made to the American people, said Ryan: First, it restores federalism; second, it is pro-life.

The hearing comes nearly a month after the annual anti-abortion March For Life, which this year included a speech by Vice President Mike Pence. Last weekend, rallies calling for Planned Parenthood to be defunded were held around the country;many of the demonstrations weremet with counterprotests in favor of abortion rights.

This article has been updated to include information on the congressional vote.

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Congress Votes to Reverse Obama Rule Blocking States From Defunding Planned Parenthood - Newsweek

A foreign national is arrested during an enforcement raid in Los Angeles by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Feb. 7, 2017.(Photo: Charles Reed, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP)

The first major immigration raid under President Trump showsa clearshift in the federal government's deportation strategy,targeting fewer undocumented immigrants with criminal records than under President Obama.

Of 678 people rounded up in 12 states during raids last week, 74% had been convicted of a crime. That is down from 90% of detained people with criminal records in 2016 under Obama, according to a USA TODAYanalysis of more than a dozen federal raids.

For example, during a June 2016 raid conducted in six Midwestern states, 85% of the 324 people arrested had beenconvicted of crimes. During a raid in those same six states last week, 69% had criminal records.

The increase in arrests of those without criminal records does not appear to be consistent with Trump's promise afterhis electiontouse Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to target murderers, rapists and other "bad hombres" who pose serious threats to public safety.

Obama had taken a similar stance byfocusing on criminal offenders.After 18 raids in 2016, ICE issued summaries notingthat all the undocumented immigrants arrested were"enforcement priorities" who included convicted criminals, gang members, threats to national security, those who recently crossed the borderand people with standing deportation orders.

In summaries of each of the five coordinated raids conducted last week, however, ICE explained it was taking a new course of action."During targeted enforcement operations, ICE officers frequently encounter additional suspects who may be in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws," the summaries said. "Those persons will be evaluated on a case by case basis and, when appropriate, arrested by ICE."

READMORE:

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100 years and 16 presidents ago, a look at another anti-immigration act

David Leopold, a Cleveland immigration attorney and past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said exposing all undocumented immigrants encountered during raids for deportation represents a "major shift" in enforcement that takes the focus away from serious criminals and creates a sense of panic throughout the immigrant community.

"This is the blueprint for mass deportations," he said.

Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, whichfavors lower levels of immigration,saidthe shift is simply common sense. Krikorian, who has advised the Trump administration on immigration policy,said Obama correctlyprioritizedlimited deportation dollars on the most serious criminals. But he said it was a mistake tolimit the ability of ICE officers to arrest other undocumented immigrants caught during their operations.

"What's different now is that we've returned to normal enforcement practices where the 'bad hombres' are still job one, but ordinary lawbreakers are no longer exempt from enforcement," Krikorian said.

The ability of ICE agents to arrest undocumented immigrants encountered during their day-to-day jobs islaid out by orders from the president or the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Over the course of his eight years in office, Obama gradually restricted who ICE agents could apprehend. He created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012, which granted deportation protections to more than 750,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Then, in 2014, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a memorandum outlining "enforcement priorities" and ordered ICE agents to only capture alimited group of undocumented immigrants.

That led to an increasing percentage of people deported under Obama with a criminal record. In 2011, about 67% of undocumented immigrants deported from the interior of the country had criminal records. Thefigure rose every year after that, hitting 92% in 2016.

All that changed on Jan. 25, when Trump signed an executive order vastly expandingthe pool of undocumented immigrants considered "enforcement priorities." The new list added undocumented immigrants who have been charged with a crime but not convicted, those who have used fake Social Security numbers to find jobs orabused public benefit programsand people who "otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security."

This week, new Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly reiterated Trump's earlier call to focus on the most dangerous undocumented immigrants. Kelly said ICE agents would have a "specific focus on those who pose a threat to public safety."

John Sandweg, a former acting director of ICE under Obama, said suchpronouncements mean little to ICE agents working in the field. Instead, they operate under guidelines set forth by their superiors,in this caseTrump's Jan. 25 executive order.

"The priorities are what govern the operations," said Sandweg. "Thats how theyre graded, thats how their compensation and benefits are awarded, that's how theyre promoted."

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Trump immigration raids target fewer criminals than Obama raids - USA TODAY

Once out of office, ex-presidents usually fade into private life and stay out of politics. They write memoirs, serve on corporate boards, and start charitable foundations. George W. Bush retired to his ranch in Texas and, most recently, painted portraits of veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bill Clinton was briefly thrust back into politics during Hillarys two failed presidential campaigns, but most of his post-White House career consisted of flying around the world raising boatloads of money for his familys now-defunct charity.

There are exceptions, of course. Jimmy Carter threw himself into international diplomacy, mediating an agreement in 1994 to return exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in Haiti, and generally agitating for a Palestinian state.

Then there is Obama. Less than a month out of office, the broad contours of Obamas post-presidency career are already taking shape. Obama and his loyalists, it seems, will remain in the center of the political fray, officially and unofficially, in an organized effort to undermine the Trump administration.

The bizarre scandal now unfolding over the resignation of national security advisor Michael Flynn is a case in point. Flynns resignation was prompted by a series of coordinated and anonymous leaks from current and former Obama administration officials in our domestic intelligence agencies.

Regardless of any valid criticism of Flynn, the leaks are part of a larger, loosely organized effort now underway to preserve Obamas legacy. This effort involves Obama-era officials still inside the federal government, former Obama staffers working in the private sector, and Obama himself.

This isnt some conspiracy theory. After the election, Obama indicated he intends to stay involved in the political fray. In an email to his supporters on his last day in office, Obama encouraged them to stay engaged, promising Ill be right there with you every step of the way. Less than two weeks later, he issued a statement saying he was heartened by anti-Trump protests over the executive order on immigration.

But theres more to all thisthan Obama issuing solidarity statements to Trump protestors. For one thing, the former president isnt moving back to Chicago. The Obama family will remain in Washington DC, within a couple miles of the White House, for the next two years as Obamas youngest daughter finishes high school.

From there, Obama will help direct his new foundation, which he has said will be a startup for citizenship. That could mean a lot things, but in light of his other plans it suggests the Obama Foundation will be a political grassroots organization designed to mobilize progressive activists.

Obama has also announced hell be working with former Attorney General Eric Holder on a political action group called the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Its goal is to get Democrats elected at the state and local level ahead of the next redrawing of congressional districts. Last month, Obama reportedly met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe to strategize about redistricting.

In addition to these pursuits, the former president will likely play a prominent role in a network of progressive nonprofits, most notably Organizing for Action, the political group that grew out of Obamas first campaign. OFA has kept a low profile in recent years, and if Clinton had won it likely would have shut down.

But last week, OFA officials told NBC News the organization was ramping up operations nationwide in an effort to preserve Obamas signature achievements like the Affordable Care Act. As part of that effort, the group recently hired 14 field organizers in key states, adding to a growing infrastructure that boasts more than 250 offices nationwide and more than 32,000 volunteers.

Obama of course isnt alone in all this. Trumps victory has mobilized his top aides and staffers to take action, too. Former Obama staffer Tommy Vietor told the Daily Beast that, had Clinton won, I would have been inclined to feel comfortable that Obamas legacy and the things we worked on were safe.

Instead, Vietor, along with former Obama administration staffers Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, are launching a new podcast, Pod Save America, under their new joint media venture, Crooked Media.

The purpose of the company should be fairly obvious. In the battle between Donald Trump and the media, we are firmly on the side of the media, Favreau told the Daily Beast, adding that hes not interested in the veneer of objectivity. Were always going to be Obama guys, were very open and honest about that.

Favreau has also been helping create Obamas new foundation, whose mission, he says, is to get people involved in civic life and get people engaged in politics. Of Crooked Media, Favreau says, I think we would very much like to be the media company version of that. So its certainly inspired by a lot of what Obama has talked about in terms of the media over the last several months.

A host of other former Obama staffers have simply taken to social media to voice their opposition to Trump. One former senior administration official told Yahoo News, There are more than a few of us who believe deeply in holding this administrations feet to the fireespecially when they offer falsehoods to the American people and distort our record. We have an email chain going where we share impressions, etc.

As the leaks keep flowing from our intelligence agencies and the tweets keep flying from former Obama officials, keep in mind that although we havent heard much from Obama himself yet, the Trump administration is going to keep feeling the disruptions of what amounts to a shadow government.

Obama had eight years in the White House to secure his legacy. Any efforts on his part to undermine his successor arent just an affront to the principles of our democracy, theyre an admission that he and his acolytes never put much stock in democracy to begin with.

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Obama's Shadow Government Is Organizing To Undermine Trump - The Federalist

By Dan Levine and Kristina Cooke | SAN FRANCISCO

SAN FRANCISCO U.S. immigration authorities have detained a 23-year-old Mexican man who was brought to the United States illegally as a child and given a work permit during the Obama administration, according to a lawsuit challenging the detention in Seattle federal court.

The man's lawyers say this could be the first time under U.S. President Donald Trump that a person covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has been taken into immigration custody. The program was established in 2012 by Democratic President Barack Obama to allow those brought to the country while young to attend school and work.

Ethan Dettmer, a partner in the law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and one of the lawyers representing the man, Daniel Ramirez Medina, said he is not aware of any other DACA recipient who has been arrested.

"We are hoping this detention was a mistake," he added.

Ramirez was a self-admitted gang member, said Rose Richeson, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in a statement.

"ICE officers took Mr Ramirez into custody based on his admitted gang affiliation and risk to public safety.

Richeson declined to elaborate further on how ICE established the man was a member of a gang.

Dettmer said Ramirez "unequivocally denies" being in a gang.

"While in custody, he was repeatedly pressured by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to falsely admit affiliation," said Dettmer. "The statement issued tonight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not accurate.

Ramirez, who has no criminal record according to court papers filed in his case, was taken into custody last week at his father's home in Seattle by ICE officers.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an interview with ABC News last month, Trump said his administration was devising a policy on how to deal with people covered by DACA, without indicating any concrete plans.

"They are here illegally. They shouldn't be very worried. I do have a big heart. We're going to take care of everybody. We're going to have a very strong border," Trump said at the time.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed by Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe and other prominent attorneys, officers went to the home to arrest the man's father. Court documents do not make clear why the father was taken into custody.

Ramirez, now detained in Tacoma, Washington, was granted temporary permission to live and work in the United States under DACA in about 2014, according to the lawsuit, and his status was renewed in 2016. Reuters viewed a document attached to the lawsuit that appeared to confirm his DACA approval.

The program protects from deportation 750,000 people who were brought to the United States illegally as children, sometimes called "dreamers."

Trump, a Republican who took office on Jan. 20, has promised a crackdown on the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, most of whom come from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Although the reasons for Ramirez's arrest are in dispute, a move against DACA recipients would represent a significant broadening of immigration enforcement under Trump.

Reuters could not independently confirm whether other DACA recipients have been detained since Trump took office.

Ramirez filed a challenge to his detention in Seattle federal court on Monday, arguing that the government violated his constitutional rights because he had work authorization under the DACA program, his lawsuit said.

Ramirez was in custody and unavailable for comment.

A BROKEN PROMISE?

Another of Ramirez's lawyers, Mark Rosenbaum of the legal advocacy group Public Counsel, characterized the DACA program as a promise from the federal government's executive branch that DACA recipients would not be targeted for deportation and said he hoped that promise would not be broken.

Emily Langley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle, said the Justice Department is still reviewing the case.

Under 2014 guidance from the Obama administration, someone would be a deportation priority for gang activity only if they had been convicted of an offence in connection with the gang, not for gang affiliation alone, although there was room for discretion on the part of immigration officials. Reuters could not determine whether gang members who had not committed crimes were deported during Obama's tenure.

U.S. immigration officers last week arrested more than 680 people in the country illegally. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the operations, conducted in at least a dozen states, were routine and consistent with regular operations.

But immigrant advocacy groups and Democrats have expressed concern that the Trump administration will escalate immigration enforcement efforts in line with the president's tough stance toward illegal immigrants.

Ramirez in his lawsuit is seeking immediate release and an injunction forbidding the government from arresting him again. A hearing in the case has been scheduled for Friday.

According to the lawsuit, Ramirez was asleep at his father's home last Friday morning when ICE agents arrived and arrested the father. When they entered, they asked Ramirez if he was in the country legally, and Ramirez said he had a work permit, the lawsuit stated.

ICE agents took Ramirez to a processing center in Seattle and he again disclosed his DACA work permit, the lawsuit stated.

Ramirez was fingerprinted, booked and taken to a detention center in Tacoma where he remained on Tuesday, said Rosenbaum.

(Additional reporting by Bill Rigby in Seattle; Editing by Sue Horton and Will Dunham)

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US detains Mexican immigrant in Seattle covered by Obama program - Reuters