Obama’s Secret Destruction of Our Immigration System

A newly-leaked memo from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reveals the Obama administration is seeking to sidestep a federal court injunction that suspended portions of the president’s amnesty-based initiatives known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In short, Obama is determined to impose his transformational agenda on the nation by any means necessary.

According to the Hill, the document outlining the administration’s attempt to thumb its nose at the rule of law was prepared at a DHS “Regulations Retreat” last June, four months after a preliminary injunction was initially imposed by Texas Judge Andrew Hanen and subsequently left in place by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Circuit’s final ruling on that injunction, either confirming or reversing it, is expected to occur in a matter of days.

Apparently the Obama administration couldn’t care less. The retreat was convened to discuss options regarding work permits for illegals, statutorily known as Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). The memo recording those discussions reveals the administration had no intention of waiting while the court determined the constitutionality of Obama’s effort to nullify immigration law. Rather, they have been preparing to roll out one or more of four separate plans aimed at providing EADs to millions of illegal aliens.

The memo states that Option 1 would grants EADs to “all individuals living in the United States,” a group that includes illegal aliens, visa-overstayers, and H-1B guest-workers. Option 4 provides EADs to individuals on certain unexpired non-immigrant visas, the Hill reports. Both options directly violate the Immigration and Nationality Act that ostensibly protects American wages and job security from excessive immigration, and completely subverts the nation’s current visa system.

The number of individuals benefiting from these initiatives is infuriating. Option 1 would “address the needs of some of the intended deferred action population,” meaning anyone physically present in the nation who has been prohibited from obtaining an EAD until now. That definition applies to 4.3 million people covered by DAPA and the Expanded DACA programs, despite the reality the benefits accruing from those programs were supposed to have been stopped by the Hanen decision. In addition, the DHS plan would provide EADs to individuals with temporary non-immigrant visas, such as H-1B visas holders whose work authorizations are tied to their employers—along with an additional 5-6 million illegal aliens yet to be included in any part of Obama’s deferred action amnesty agenda. The DHS is contending it can unilaterally separate the work authorization requirements contained in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act from the rest of U.S. visa statutes. And while it can’t ignore legal requirements with regard to issuing visas, the Obama administration insists it has discretionary powers that should shock any American who believes in the rule of law...