Obama Delaying Deportation Relief Until End of Summer

It has been reported that President Obama has ordered DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson to delay the introduction of deportation relief policies until the end of summer to afford House Republicans a full opportunity to introduce their own reform legislation. Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, said that the President wants “to enact a permanent solution for people currently living in the shadows and that can only come with immigration reform … He believes there’s a window for the House to get immigration reform done this summer.”

Ms. Munoz failed to mention that the President has the power to expand parole in place to undocumented immediate relatives of citizens and beneficiaries of employment based petitions that would provide an immediate and permanent solution. Apparently the White House would prefer to see another 100,000 deportations before Hell freezes over this August.

This latest move received the blessing of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Service Employees International Union, and the National Immigration Forum, who called on Obama to delay his review of deportation policies.

The response on the internet has not been favorable.

Erika Andiola of the Dream Action Coalition is “appalled” by the President’s decision stating that:

While we keep waiting, more and more families continue to be detained and deported. As advocates, our job is to hold both parties accountable for what they are doing to our families; we cannot just forget about deportations.

The National Immigration Youth Alliance had the following to say:

Several groups campaigning for immigration reform, including SEIU and the National Immigration Forum, have killed Obama’s planned reforms to deportation policy this year.

If your mother or father gets deported in the next few weeks, blame SEIU. It’s time to tell these organizations that they don’t speak for immigrant families.

Community Organizer Carlos E. Rojas Rodriguez of the PICO National Network, and New Jersey DREAM Act Coalition was similarly outraged:

It is shameful to see how far these sellout national organizations are willing to go in order to keep their relationships with the White House. To sacrifice another 100,000 immigrant families who will face deportation when we ALL know there is ZERO chance of any decent immigration bill passing from now till August. SHAME ON THESE ORGANIZATIONS!!! STOP DISGUISING YOURSELVES AS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHEN IN REALITY YOU ARE JUST DEMOCRATIC OUTREACH ORGANIZATIONS DESIGNED TO PROTECT YOUR OWN INTERESTS!!!

United We Dream’s Lorella Praeli: “Now they want us to cater to the Republicans’ strategy of death-by-delay for immigration reform and continue to put our families at risk. The time for space has come and gone.”

Arise Chicago Campaign Organizer Jorge Mújica Murias:

It’s obvious. If Obama acts now, there’s nothing else to blame the Republican Party for. The election game dictates that we shall continue listening to “Speaker Boehner, please give us immigration reform” until close to election time, when our “savior” Barack Obama will finally use his executive powers, save the world and win all Latino votes for the Democratic Party… revolting.

Former United We DREAM Coordinator Carlos Saavedra Diaz:

Let the real battle for the control of the immigrant rights movement begin now!

This year just now is going to get much more interesting. It is sad that so many of these organizations have taken the wrong strategy, every terrible move like this has bad consequences. It is useful for us as movement to learn from this moment and know that organizations that are too close to the Democratic party, too close to the Obama administration and to close to the Republican party are using a strategy that favors those groups instead of the community at large.

Let the season of direct action begin now, we know the addresses of their offices.

Nationally Syndicated Columnist Rueben Navarrette:

The Latinos who are least concerned with President Obama’s dreadful, Dirty Harry-style approach to deportations are the same ones who don’t personally know any undocumented immigrants.

It’s brilliant and cynical. Obama has done a splendid job of dividing Latinos, citizens and immigrants.

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