President Obama vowed executive action on immigration in a
televised speech from the White House on Thursday night.
He began by criticizing House Republicans for failing to vote on
a comprehensive immigration reform bill—necessitating the actions
he is about to take.
“Had the House of Representatives allowed that kind of a bill a
simple yes-or-no vote, it would have passed with support from both
parties, and today it would be the law,” he said. “But for a year
and a half now, Republican leaders in the House have refused to
allow that simple vote.”
In lieu of legislation, the president announced additional
resources for the border and an extended program for guest
workers.
Most significantly, the president vowed to cease deporting
illegal immigrant who meet certain criteria.
“We will take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of
undocumented immigrants who live within our country,” he said. “If
you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have
children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you
register, pass a criminal background check, and you’re willing to
pay your fair share of taxes – you’ll be able to apply to stay in
this country temporarily, without fear of deportation. You can come
out of the shadows and get right with the law.”
Obama stressed that the current policy constitutes de facto
amnesty, since many immigrants evade deportation as it is.
“Tracking down and rounding up millions of people isn’t
realistic,” he said. “Anyone who says otherwise isn’t being
straight with you.”
He also expressed his preference for Congress to pass some sort
of immigration law in the future.
Full text of Obama’s speech is available
here.
Reason’s Peter Suderman has
reviewed the president’s plan and believes it holds merit,
although skeptics are right to point out the dubious Constitutional
rationale.
In my own view, any night the government decides to stop ruining
people’s lives for not obeying absurd laws is a good night for
libertarians.
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