David Jackson and Alan Gomez, USA TODAY
President Obama put the
final touches on a major immigration speech Thursday, setting up a major
political battle with newly empowered Republicans over executive orders that
would delay deportations of up to 5 million migrants.
While White House officials
and Democratic lawmakers described Obama's imminent executive orders on
immigration are necessary and lawful, Republicans called them an abuse of
presidential power.
"For the good of the
American people, the President must use his authority under current law to do
what he can to fix our broken immigration system," said U.S. Sen. Dick
Durbin, D-Ill.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,
pointed out that Republicans return in January with a new majority in the
Senate and an expanded majority in the House, and are considering a
"variety of options" to respond to Obama's executive orders,
including possible lawsuits.
"Make no mistake,"
McConnell said. "When the newly elected representatives of the people take
their seats, they will act."
Obama is scheduled to
address the nation shortly after 8 p.m. in a speech expected to cover border
security and high-tech visas as well as the legal status of migrants.
The
president briefly plugged his plan Thursday morning while honoring winners of
the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
"Part
of staying competitive in a global economy is making sure that we have an
immigration system that doesn't send away talent, but attracts it," he
said.
In
announcing the speech Wednesday on Facebook, Obama said: "What I'm going
to be laying out is the things that I can do, with my lawful authority as
president, to make the (immigration) system work better — even as I continue to
work with Congress and encourage them to get a bipartisan, comprehensive bill
that can solve the entire problem."
In e-mail
statements and television interviews, the White House and its supporters argued
that Obama is acting because House Republicans are blocking passage of a major
immigration bill that the Senate passed in 2013. They also note that previous
presidents, including Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, issued
executive orders granting legal status to migrants.
"The
president does have significant authority," White House press secretary
Josh Earnest said on MSNBC. "This is authority that has been used by
Republican presidents."
The
Republican position: Reagan and Bush did executive orders as adjustments to a
congressional immigration bill passed in 1986, while Obama is going around
Congress. Some described the new executive orders as a political power grab
designed to appeal to Hispanic voters, while ignoring GOP election victories in
this month's congressional elections.
GOP members
also pointed out that, in recent years, Obama himself has questioned whether he
has the legal authority to defer deportations.
"If the
president truly follows through on this attempt to impose his will
unilaterally, he will have issued a rebuke to his own stated view of
democracy," McConnell said in a Senate floor speech. "And he will
have contradicted his past statements on this very issue.
Obama is
considering protecting up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from any
deportation proceedings. Most of those are expected to be parents with children
who were born in the U.S., meaning they are U.S. citizens. He may also consider
expanding the pool of young undocumented immigrants who have been protected
under a 2012 program, or granting protections to undocumented immigrants who
have been in the country for long periods of time.
Department of
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Wednesday that the president will
also improve border security. Only Congress can order the hiring of thousands
of Border Patrol agents, but Obama can increase their salaries and redeploy
immigration agents spread around the country to the southwest border.
The president
is also considering changes to a program called Secure Communities, which helps
local police check the immigration status of suspects they've arrested for
local crimes. That plan has angered many immigration advocates and Democrats
who say it turns local police into immigration agents, while Republicans and
some law enforcement officials say it's critical to track immigration violators
around the country.
Obama will
follow up Thursday night's address with a Friday event at a high school in Las
Vegas, Nevada, a state with a large number of undocumented migrants.
White House
aides said Obama still wants to work with Congress on a legislative bill that
would supersede the executive orders. While the new orders could affect up to 5
million people, there are an estimated 11 million in the United States
illegally.
"There
are some steps the president can't take and require legislation," Earnest
said on Fox News. "Tonight's action represents a first step."
White House
Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri, appearing on MSNBC, said that
"this is not the way we want to proceed. It's not solving the problem
permanently."
