Immigration and the new "deferred action"

09:40 am

June 15, 2012
The Obama administration announced today that it will stop deporting younger illegal immigrants who came to the country as children and have no criminal history.

"It is not immunity; it is not amnesty. It is an exercise of discretion," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said during a press briefing.

Essentially, the administration is using its prosecutorial discretion to defer action and allow those people to apply for job permits. This is important, because it means that it can be reversed or altered by any president. That means Obama can do it or Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney could reverse it if he wins in November.

According to the AP:

"The administration's decision will affect as many as 800,000 immigrants. Two senior administration officials described the plan on condition of anonymity ahead of its expected announcement Friday."

"Illegal immigrants will avoid deportation and be eligible for work permits if they arrived in the U.S. before age 16, are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED, or served in the military."

The Romney campaign has now issued a statement. It reads in part:

"I'd like to see legislation that deals with this issue, and I happen to agree with Marco Rubio as he looked at this issue. He said that this is an important matter, that we have to find a long-term solution, but that the president's action makes reaching a long-term solution more difficult. If I'm president, we'll do our very best to have that kind of long-term solution that provides certainty and clarity for the people who come into this country through no fault of their own by virtue of the action of their parents."

Rubio issued a statement earlier today, saying that while there is broad agreement that this issue needs to be resolved, this move by Obama "will make harder to achieve in the long run."