Obama Administration Makes More Changes To Immigration System

Color me skeptical and answer this question. Will the Obama administration ever decide they have made enough changes by imperial decree? Trust me folks, the current resident of the White House is taking his statement that he has a pen and a phone very seriously. We all thought that was a somewhat funny phrase, but Mr. Obama, not so much. He is taking action every day to fulfill those words.

My opposition to the latest of these decrees may earn me ire from several groups. Some conservatives may even question my thinking, but here goes. The Obama administration has issued new orders, in the form of a policy memorandum from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Legal status, along with military benefits is now being granted to the thousands of illegal and undocumented immigrants who are the families of some members of our military. This includes spouses, children, and parents.

Fox News – Supporters say the policy — which applies to active-duty military, reservists and veterans — is long overdue.

“Those veterans and those men and women who serve in the National Guard certainly deserve the peace of mind that their family members will not be deported,” immigration attorney Faye Kolly said.

But critics say the policy is tantamount to backdoor amnesty.

“A whole class of aliens with no right to be in the United States are suddenly going to be allowed to live and work here on the basis of their relationship with military and veterans,” said Dan Cadman, with the Center for Immigration Studies.

The exemption, called parole in place, came in the form of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “policy memorandum.” It was not submitted to or approved by Congress, and the regulations were not published in the Federal Register, which allows for public comment prior to a rule taking effect.

“I don’t want to overstate it, but it sounds very similar to imperial decree if you ask me,” Cadman said. “The public had no chance to comment on this new policy. I believe the way this was done was illegal.”

Obama administration officials say the new rules do not require congressional action because they’re based on existing statutes.

“It’s clearly within the president’s authority to enforce the law and choose which immigrants he thinks are the priority,” said Brent Wilkes of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “These folks aren’t threats. They’ve got a relative that’s serving our nation.”

A couple of things I want to point out. First, I have always questioned the practice of allowing illegal immigrants to serve in the American military as a means of gaining citizenship. I take nothing away from the sacrifices many of them have made and the services they have provided, but I can not help but ponder where their true loyalties would like, should push come to shove and we are in a shooting war with their native country. If that sounds unfair, forgive me. It’s just the way I think.

Second, more forgiveness is in order if you think I am being unfair to these veterans and their families. But at what point do we say enough is enough? The proponents of this new policy are saying it is only fair to grant legal status to the families of our veterans. For the sake of the argument, I’ll give them that point, but remember what happened earlier in the Obama administration. The President declared it was only right and proper that the DREAM children, brought to America when they had no say in the matter, be granted legal status and a way to gain citizenship. That’s two group of illegal immigrants that have been declared legal and allowed to stay in America. To me, the obvious question is what group of illegal immigrants comes next?

Keep in mind that the Obama administration is saying the new policy requires no congressional action, approval or otherwise, because it is based on existing statutes. I would like a list of those existing statutes, because it seems to me they are creating law and enforcing it with rules and regulations that completely bypasses what should be the main branch of our government.

I’m telling you, we need to take President Obama seriously, when he said he has a pen and a phone. We see the pen in action almost every day and we have almost three more years before he runs out of ink. The going opinion that I have heard for years is that the longest lasting legacy a President can leave is the men and women he nominates to the American judicial system. While that may be true, I believe the rules, regulations, and policy changes President Obama is making will run them a very close second in the changes they effect upon America.