Presidential Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants?

The article below is taken from NumbersUSA.com, a great website for information and resources to send free faxes to both the President and your representatives, as well as easily accessible phone numbers for them. It is definitely worth your while to take a look at the site.

Only Public Shaming Can Stop Amnesty Through Executive Actions That By-Passes Congress

By Roy Beck, Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 9:38 PM EDT - posted on NumbersUSA

It seems like it would be against the law for the Administration to order a de facto amnesty for millions of illegal aliens while totally bypassing Congress. But 8 U.S. Senators believe that is what Obama officials are considering right now because most Members of Congress are scared to death to have to VOTE on an amnesty just a few months before elections.

(Read the letter from the Senators to Pres. Obama below.)

Your great success in keeping Congress from voting on a mass amnesty this year has stirred up a new threat.


Seeing that most Members of Congress don't want to vote for an amnesty this year, Administration officials appear to be considering ways to do a de facto amnesty without involving Congress.


We at NumbersUSA have been hearing about this behind the scenes for a few weeks but haven't had solid enough evidence to mount a national mobilization against. Now, the whispering has erupted with an open letter to the President from 8 U.S. Senators spelling out the details known thus far.


In a nutshell, there is discussion going on within the Administration about stopping nearly all deportations, presumably until "comprehensive immigration reform" can be passed to give illegal aliens full work and residency rights permanently. The point here is to satisfy the open-border bloc of voters who have been threatening to boycott the elections this fall unless Pres. Obama makes an all-out effort to pass an amnesty this year.


RELIGIOUS LEADERS HINTED AT THIS EXECUTIVE-BRANCH AMNESTY LAST WEEK


I am guessing that this is what religious leaders were hinting at the Brookings conference I attended last week.


They indicated that they had been talking with Administration officials about a way to help illegal aliens without having to deal with Congress. They then said they had better not say any more about it.


Friends, U.S. Presidents have proven whether Republican or Democrat that they are capable of doing almost anything they please until they come up for re-election. Only an incredible outburst of outrage from the public can stop the Administration from doing a de facto amnesty all by itself.


Make sure you have sent a free fax to the President and then to your 3 Members of Congress decrying any Executive-Order Amnesty.


We need all 535 Members of Congress to know about the De Facto Amnesty Plot -- and to know that you know.

* We want Democrats in Congress to begin to tell their Leaders and the White House that even the hint that this amnesty could happen will hurt their chances of winning in the fall.

* We want Republicans to start threatening to use the Plot as a campaign issue.

* We want the White House to publicly promise that it will NOT unilaterally proclaim an amnesty.

* Short of that, we want to see the White House forced to deny over and over that such a plot is even underway.


NumbersUSA promises to spread the word far and wide now that these 8 Senators have come forward with what they know of the amnesty plot.


LETTER FROM 8 SENATORS


Dear President Obama:


We understand that there’s a push for your Administration to develop a plan to unilaterally extend either deferred action or parole to millions of illegal aliens in the United States. We understand that the Administration may include aliens who have willfully overstayed their visas or filed for benefits knowing that they will not be eligible for a status for years to come. We understand that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances. Deferred action and parole were not intended to be used to confer a status or offer protection to large groups of illegal aliens, even if the agency claims that they look at each case on a “case-by-case” basis.


While we agree our immigration laws need to be fixed, we are deeply concerned about the potential expansion of deferred action or parole for a large illegal alien population. While deferred action and parole are Executive Branch authorities, they should not be used to circumvent Congress’ constitutional authority to legislate immigration policy, particularly as it relates to the illegal population in the United States.


The Administration would be wise to abandon any plans for deferred action or parole for the illegal population. Such a move would further erode the American public’s confidence in the federal government and its commitment to securing the borders and enforcing the laws already on the books.


We would appreciate receiving a commitment that the Administration has no plans to use either authority to change the current position of a large group of illegal aliens already in the United States, and ask that you respond to us about this matter as soon as possible.


(signed by)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
Sen. Hatch (R-Utah)
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.)
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)


Many news organizations are asking for the proof that these Senators have that the amnesty plot is really being discussed inside the Administration.


We are sure that the 8 Senators have heard the same reports from inside the Administration that we have heard -- about studying what administrative tools they might modify to by-pass Congress. This doesn't mean the President has an actual plan yet. But we feel there is a real threat. And we are certain that the 8 Senators would not have gone public with their concerns if they did not have inside information of discussions about this de facto amnesty.


The time to stop any chance of a plan is right now while it is still in discussion stage (or maybe in final discussion stage).


ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA


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