Statement by the Federation for American Immigration Reform: President Obama Orders More Whittling Away of What Little is Left of Immigration Enforcement, Charges FAIR

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Mar 14, 2014, 03:47 ET

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, in response to President Obama's ordered review of deportation policies:

"President Obama's order that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review its deportation practices 'to see how it can conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law,' is yet another escalation of his ongoing defiance of U.S. immigration laws and the constitutional limits of his office.

"Mr. Obama's move appears to have come as a result of a highly orchestrated public relations campaign on the part of illegal aliens and their advocates to portray him as 'Deporter-in-Chief.' Nothing could be farther from the truth. Just this week DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson testified that his department has been mixing border removals with interior removals - a practice that has made total deportations appear larger than they actually are - and has all but ceased deportations of non-criminal aliens now in the U.S. In fact, during his first five years in office, President Obama's administration has removed the fewest illegal aliens, on an annual basis, since the Ford administration.

"The Obama immigration enforcement record is inhumane and unfair. It is inhumane and unfair to the millions of Americans who are losing employment and wage opportunities to the illegal aliens his administration refuses to act against. It is unfair to millions more Americans who are burdened with the staggering costs of illegal immigration, and to millions of legal immigrants who have played by the rules.

"The United States has the most generous immigration policies in the world. It is the people who violate our laws, to the detriment of the American people, who bear the responsibility for the hardships deportation imposes on their family members.

"By his own admission, President Obama lacks the authority to halt deportations of illegal aliens. Yet, he has repeatedly and systematically ignored or rewritten immigration laws to serve his own political objectives. It is incumbent upon Congress, even those who support granting amnesty to illegal aliens, to stand up to this blatant defiance of the constitutional Separation of Powers doctrine. The fact that Congress has not enacted the immigration reforms that the president desires does not give him license to act unilaterally.

"Thursday's move by the White House should also put to rest any consideration by the House of immigration legislation similar to the bill passed by the Senate last year. President Obama cannot be trusted to carry out any enforcement requirements of new immigration laws when he so flagrantly flouts the laws Congress has already enacted."

About FAIR
Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 250,000 members nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

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SOURCE FAIR