JUDICIAL WATCH - OBAMA'S BIT BY BIT BY BIT AMNESTY

Obama to Bypass Congress and Grant Amnesty through Executive Fiat?
Over the last month, conservatives have speculated that President Obama might bypass Congress and grant blanket amnesty to millions of illegal aliens currently residing in the United States by way of executive fiat. According to a controversial new “draft” report crafted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), this lawless Obama administration scheme is more than mere rumor. It is a detailed and well-thought-out strategy.
According to FoxNews.com:
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., on Sunday said he and his colleagues are still looking for answers on whether the administration has seriously considered mass legalization for illegal immigrants, after an administration memo surfaced outlining ways to grant legalization without going through Congress.
The draft memo, first obtained by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office from the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, outlines ways the administration was exploring to legalize swaths of illegal immigrants “in the absence of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” The memo describes how to, “reduce the threat of removal for certain individuals present in the United States without authorization.”
Of course the Obama administration is trying to downplay the significance of the memo. But these denials ring hollow. And no one can deny the intent of the memo.
You don’t even have to read past the subject header of the memo to get a clue as to what the USCIS is up to: “Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Illegal Immigration Reform.” Is there any way to misread the objective here? Clearly the USCIS expended a considerable amount of effort trying to sneak this past Congress in order to implement the President’s illegal alien amnesty plan.
But even if you’re someone who believes you can’t judge a memo by its title, let’s take a look at some excerpts from the USCIS document so you can judge for yourself. (You can also read the entire memo for yourself by clicking here).
• Options
The following items - used alone or in combination - have the potential to result in meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action.
• Allow TPS [Temporary Protected Status] Applicants Who Entered Without Inspection to Adjust or Change Status
…Thus, USCIS should no longer adhere to the 1990 General Counsel opinions, and instead permit individuals in TPS to adjust or change status. Opening this pathway will help thousands of applicants obtain lawful permanent residence without having to leave the U.S.
• Expand the Use of Parole-in-Place
USCIS has the discretionary authority under [federal law] to parole into the U.S. on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or “significant public benefit” any applicant for admission…Granting parole to aliens in the U.S. who have not been admitted or paroled is commonly referred to as “parole-in-place” (PIP). By granting PIP, USCIS can eliminate the need for qualified recipients to return to their home country for consular processing, particularly when doing so might trigger a bar to returning.
• Lessen the Standard for Demonstrating Extreme Hardship
…By statute, DHS has discretion to waive these grounds of inadmissibility for spouses, sons and daughters of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents if the refusal to admit these individuals would result in extreme hardship for their qualifying relatives. Generally the “extreme hardship” standard has been narrowly construed by USCIS. To increase the number of individuals applying for waivers, and improve their chances for receiving them, CIS could issue guidance or regulation specifying a lower evidentiary standard for “extreme hardship.”
• Increase the Use of Deferred Action
…USCIS has previously allowed the use of deferred action to provide relief to non-immigrants whose period of admission had expired, or otherwise had failed to maintain lawful immigrant status…While it is theoretically possible to grant deferred action to an unrestricted number of unlawfully present individuals, doing so would likely be controversial, not to mention expensive…Rather than making deferred action widely available to hundreds of thousands and as a non-legislative version of “amnesty,” USCIS could tailor the use of this discretionary option for particular groups….
The memo goes on for about 11 pages with other recommendations that I cannot adequately cover in this space, so do consider taking the time to read the document for yourself. I’ve reviewed tens of thousands of government documents in my 12-plus years here at Judicial Watch. So it is not insignificant for me to say that this memo is about the most brazen and shocking government document I’ve ever reviewed.
Republicans and, eventually, even Democrats are unlikely to let this matter drop. In fact, according to Fox News, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have written to Chairman Leahy demanding the matter be investigated by the Committee: “We are very concerned about the options outlined in the memo and are troubled that the executive branch could be engaged in an effort to inappropriately expand its authority to ensure illegal immigrants are not removed from the United States and are given access to various immigration benefits, including potential green card status," the Senators wrote.
Let’s sum up. Obama’s top political appointees in the agency charged with enforcing our immigration laws are spending their time thinking of ways not to enforce the law and how to bypass the elected representatives of the people to grant mass amnesty through a raw abuse of executive power.
Obama and his appointees are obviously impatient with the niceties of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. We already knew they’re against the rule of law with their coordinated and dishonest attack on Arizona’s SB 1070. This latest memo shows they’d be happy to throw the rule of law out entirely when it comes to immigration.
Judicial Watch is hard at work. We already had a Freedom of Information Act request in place on the secret amnesty plan, and we plan to expand our investigation in light of the new memo.