Obama administration pondering a work-around Congress on amnesty?
by Laurie Roberts - The Arizona Republic
On the heels of the federal government muscling aside Arizona's efforts to enact Senate Bill 1070, an internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memo has surfaced: http://www2.nationalreview.com/memo_UCIS_072910.html
laying out a scenario for how to get around Congress' inability to enact comprehensive immigration reform.
The 11-page undated draft memo lays out "administrative relief options to promote family unity, foster economic growth, achieve significant process improvements and reduce the threat of removal for certain individuals present in the United States without authorization."
Included among the ideas: expanding use of the "parole-in-place" program and deferring action on deportation. "This would permit individuals for whom relief may become available in the future to live and work in the U.S. without fear of removal," the memo says.
A USCIS spokesman downplayed the significance of the memo, calling it an "exchange of ideas" and telling ABC that no decisions have been made. "To be clear, the Department of Homeland Security will not grant deferred action or humanitarian parole to the nation's entire illegal immigrant population."
Holy smokes! Do the Democrats just have a death wish this year?
In Arizona, Reps. Harry Mitchell, Gabrielle Giffords and Ann Kirkpatrick are already are weighed down by a Justice Department lawsuit against a popular bill, a delay in troops to the border and now.... a memo outling a number of options that "have the potential to result in meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action."
"In the absence of Comprehensive Immigration Reform," it says, "USSIS can extend benefits and/or protections to many individuals and groups by issuing new guidance and regulations, exercising discretion with regard to parole-in-place, deferred action and the issuance of Notices to Appear (NTA), and adopting significant process improvements."
Ann, Harry, Gabby: Hot potato headed your way.