#Not1More Deportation

All posts tagged state of the union

1. Will the President use his “Either Congress acts, or I will” line about immigration ?

John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress, now works at the White House and says the President is “warming up” to the idea of using his executive powers on retirement, climate, and labor issues.   The President has said he can take action “with a pen and phone,” but he has conspicuously avoided using this line with respect to immigration.  
 

The truth is that the President has exercised considerable executive  discretion on immigration for 5 years, he is just doing so poorly.   DACA  is the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal record (notwithstanding very legitimate critiques about the fact that it bifurcated the undocumented community into “deserving”/ “undeserving,” criminal/non-criminal groups).   More frequently, the President used his discretion to increase suffering rather than alleviate it (Eg, the “secure communities” deportation quota program—which was not mandated by law, but created through discretionary executive action–spread Arizonification nation-wide).  

The question is not will the President use his authority on immigration.  It’s how will he use it? Read more