President Barack Obama told Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to delay finishing a review of executive amnesty options until the window for congressional action has closed, according to one Administration official. The delay is meant to give House Republicans more time to work on immigration bills without exacerbating tensions over the actions Obama has already taken to minimize interior immigration enforcement.
"While the review is ongoing, the president believes there is an opportunity for congressional action this summer and has asked Secretary Johnson to hold on releasing any results from his review while this window for congressional action remains open," the official said.
Obama ordered a review in March of whether deportation and other policies could be made “more humane,” but House Republicans said the ploy designed to placate illegal-alien advocates proves the President is not serious about enforcing immigration laws. They said immigration “reform” would have to wait until Obama could be trusted to enforce the laws Congress passes. Now the White House is worried that one possible window for action in June and could be lost if actions aren’t taken to reduce tensions.
Yesterday Cecilia Munoz, the director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council. said, "The president really wants to maximize the opportunity to get a permanent solution enacted, which requires Congress." And Vice President Joe Biden said, They've got their chance now," Biden said. "Most of the primaries are over."
The Administration statement was seemingly timed to coincide with one issued Tuesday by the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, National Immigration Forum, Service Employees International Union, Sojourners, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration. The illegal-alien advocates said:
“While we stand united in our belief that both Congress and the president share the responsibility to tackle our broken immigration system, Speaker John Boehner and the House have a real window of opportunity to pass lasting immigration reform legislation by August…During this interim, we strongly urge President Obama and his Administration to allow for this process to take place before issuing administrative action. We believe the President should move cautiously and give the House Leadership all of the space they may need to bring legislation to the floor for a vote…Should the House fail to move forward during this window, the Administration will have an obligation to use whatever tools are at its disposal under the law to prevent the tragic family break-ups and economic disruption that has become the daily norm.”
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