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Obama shifts US immigration policy Updated: 2012-06-16 21:33
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WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who were brought into the United States as children will be able to avoid deportation and get work permits under an order on Friday by President Barack Obama.
In a move that seemed to be aimed at Hispanics whose enthusiasm for voting in the Nov 6 election could be crucial to Obama's re-election chances, the president acted to potentially protect 800,000 people from deportation proceedings for at least two years.
Obama, who previously was reluctant to impose such an order even as Republicans in Congress blocked immigration reform bills he supported, called his action "the right thing to do."
His announcement was on the 30th anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that said children of illegal-immigrant parents were entitled to public education in the United States.
It allowed Obama, whose administration has faced criticism from some Hispanic groups for deporting about 400,000 illegal immigrants a year, to draw a sharp contrast between himself and Republican Mitt Romney, his opponent in the election. Romney, in trying to appeal to his party's most conservative voters, has taken a harsh stance against illegal immigration.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama emphasized that his stop-gap policy did not grant amnesty or citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. He said that such people "are Americans in their hearts and minds; in every single way but one - on paper."
Both Democrats who praised Obama's move and Republicans who attacked it agreed that Congress ultimately should decide the permanent fate of immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents.
Most Republicans continue to clamor for more law enforcement before considering any loosening of immigration rules for the estimated 12 million people who are in the country illegally. Obama emphasized various steps he has taken to secure the southwestern U.S. border, the entry point for most of the immigrants living illegally in the United States.
POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY
Obama's order was the second time in two months that he has reached out to a key Democratic voting constituency. Last month, he said for the first time that he supports legalizing gay marriages, a move that while largely symbolic, won him praise and campaign donations from the gay and lesbian community.
Friday's appeal to Hispanics came at a time when Obama's popularity has dipped amid new worries of a weakening economy and a deepening European financial crisis that further threatens American jobs.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the deeply fractured U.S. Congress have blocked most of Obama's domestic initiatives, some of which he said would have created millions of jobs.
Obama's order came a week before he is scheduled to address a meeting of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Florida. Romney also is set to address the group next week.
The meeting is likely to feature Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican who has pushed for legislation that would help children of illegal immigrants.
Obama's order also came as the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a challenge to Arizona's strict immigration laws that target people living and working in the state illegally. A ruling could come as early as next week.
A 'POWER GRAB'
Romney, campaigning in New Hampshire, said Obama's move made it more difficult to reach a long-term solution for young illegal immigrants "who come here through no fault of their own." He said he would like to see legislation to help such people but did not offer a plan of his own.
Early this year, during the Republican presidential primaries, Romney said he favored "self-deportation" in which illegal immigrants realize they would be better off returning to their native countries after employment restrictions left them unable to find work in the United States.
Other Republicans were more harsh in criticizing Obama.
"Today's announcement by President Obama is a politically motivated power grab that does nothing to further the debate but instead adds additional confusion and uncertainty to our broken immigration system," said Obama's 2008 Republican challenger for the White House, Senator John McCain of Arizona.
Another Republican, House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, called Obama's order a "breach of faith" that Smith said will have "horrible consequences" for unemployed Americans who are looking for jobs only to find that illegal immigrants will work for less money.
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