Contrary to popular belief, this shift doesn’t appear to stem from any new executive orders from The One. It comes from a directive issued by Janet Napolitano
(at Obama’s behest, of course) instructing DHS to defer action on all
young illegals who meet the DREAM-like criteria specified in the
directive. That’s why O is insisting that this isn’t amnesty:
It’s not formal legalization, it’s de facto legalization insofar as
they’re simply not going to enforce the existing law against a certain
class of illegal immigrants. It’s prosecutorial discretion, in other
words — exercised en masse on behalf of something like 800,000 people.
President Romney’s DHS director could reverse it with a single memo, but
of course Obama’s calculating that he won’t dare now that the
precedent’s been established, especially given all the pressure Romney’s
feeling and will continue to feel to be more competitive for Hispanic
votes.
When O was asked about this last year, he claimed his hands were tied. Amazing what sorts of “evolution” can happen with Election Day bearing down:
THE PRESIDENT: I just have to continue to say this notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true. We are doing everything we can administratively. But the fact of the matter is there are laws on the books that I have to enforce. And I think there’s been a great disservice done to the cause of getting the DREAM Act passed and getting comprehensive immigration passed by perpetrating the notion that somehow, by myself, I can go and do these things. It’s just not true…
[W]e live in a democracy. You have to pass bills through the legislature, and then I can sign it. And if all the attention is focused away from the legislative process, then that is going to lead to a constant dead-end. We have to recognize how the system works, and then apply pressure to those places where votes can be gotten and, ultimately, we can get this thing solved. And nobody will be a stronger advocate for making that happen than me. continue reading here @ hotair.com
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