The Obama Administration has conceded that comprehensive immigration reform will not be enacted in the foreseeable future and thus has promised to use executive authority through regulatory reform and other mechanisms to address some of the urgent problems facing our immigration system. While the President announced that such measures would be initiated by the end of August, more recently the Administration decided that any executive actions will have to wait until after the November 6 mid-term elections for fear that pro-immigration candidates as well as Democrats in general would be penalized at the polls for his actions.
Under already-existing authority, the President can pursue a number of actions that could help families and businesses that rely on foreign personnel. Some of these measures could include (1) extending DACA relief to parents of those young adults who have already received DACA relief; (2) granting work authorization and “Deferred Action” to undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children; and (3) counting only principal visa applicants against visa quotas (rather than counting both principals and their derivative family members) in an effort to clear up extreme backlogs for green cards that stretch into decades for certain categories.
In a new study released by the American Immigration Council, the authors of Executive Grants of Temporary Immigration Relief, 1956–Present, found that since at least 1956, every U.S. president has granted temporary immigration relief to one or more groups in need of assistance. The publication includes a chart of 39 examples that span actions large and small, taken over many years, sometimes by multiple administrations. Some presidents announced programs while legislation was pending. Other presidents responded to humanitarian crises. Still others made compelling choices to assist individuals in need when the law failed to address their needs or changes in circumstance.
Stay tuned.