White House Signals Refugee Crisis Will Not Deter Executive Action

As lawmakers in Washington have shifted focus away from addressing comprehensive immigration reform towards debate over the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, the White House has signaled that it will not prevent the administration from moving forward on new executive actions to address some immigration issues. According to Jennifer Palmieri, the White House communications director, “The American people see immigration as an urgent issue and want the administration to act to address the problem of a broken system.  Representative Luis V. Gutiérrez, Democrat of Illinois, said his meeting at the White House this week made him hopeful about how far the president would go this summer in sparing some immigrants from deportation

The question that persists is what kind of action the administration will take. Part of this depends on how much authority the President has to change immigration policy without Congressional action. The Attorney General Eric Holder and  Director of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson will report to the President later this summer with recommendations consistent with what they view as his authority as the head of the Executive Branch of the federal government.

Some White House officials expect that the President will order a new system that curtails deportations beyond the levels reached via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in which over half a million individuals have participated.  Some immigration activists support the granting of a reprieve from potential deportations for those parents of those who have already qualified for deferrals under DACA. Peter J. Spiro, an immigration specialist at Temple University Law School, has argued that shifting resources away from long-established families will permit law enforcement authorities to better focus limited resources to deport those who pose a real threat to the country and to process the claims of those seeking to stay here legally.

The Shulman Law Group endeavors to ensure its clients be kept abreast of all significant developments relating to the process of immigration to the United States. Edward Shulman, Esq, founder of The Shulman Law Group, LLC is a national speaker for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).  AILA is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, and to advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice.  In the course of Mr. Shulman’s involvement with AILA, he has been dedicated to educating other immigration attorneys about the import of helping intending immigrants to navigate a new cultural system. He meticulously follows all of the developments occurring in the battle over immigration reform so that he will be prepared to effectively assist his clients obtain residency if a new system is enacted.