Obama's Immigration Record 2009 to 2014: FAIR Report Chronicles Wholesale Dismantling of Enforcement

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Obama has pledged to implement a massive amnesty by executive fiat before the end of the year.  Yet, a new analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) chronicles how the president has already dramatically and systematically dismantled immigration enforcement by abusing executive power, gutting programs and resources, making questionable appointments and coordinating with special interests groups that advocate for amnesty.

President Obama's Record of Dismantling Immigration Enforcement updates FAIR's 2012 report.  It details the wholesale, and often secretive, incremental changes made to undermine enforcement of most U.S. immigration laws. The report remains the only comprehensive analysis of this administration's immigration record and is presented in a concise timeline-format detailing day-by-day actions.

Among the actions taken by the administration since 2009 were:

• Ending meaningful enforcement against employment of illegal aliens.
• Terminating cooperative enforcement agreements with state and local governments.
• Suing state and local governments attempting to implement federal laws.
• Halting the removal of non-criminal illegal aliens, under the rubric of prioritization.
• Reverting to "catch and release" policies for illegal entrants.
• Implementing the unauthorized Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty, and "parole in place" for other classes of illegal aliens.

"Even before President Obama employs his pen and his phone to grant amnesty and work authorization to some 5-8 million illegal aliens, he has already nullified much of our immigration enforcement code and destroyed the backbone of our immigration enforcement structure," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "President Obama's Record of Dismantling Immigration Enforcement documents how this administration protected illegal aliens and ignored our immigration laws."

The updated report, released in advance of the president's announcement of a sweeping amnesty by executive fiat, factually refutes this administration's repeated claims that it is vigorously enforcing immigration laws. "The presence of 12 million illegal aliens, plummeting deportation numbers and the recent border surge prove otherwise. Illegal aliens have rightly concluded that this president is not enforcing, and has no intention of enforcing, our immigration laws," Stein charged.

"The amnesty that President Obama is preparing to announce after the elections will not only reward those who have broken the law and introduce millions of newly authorized workers competing for scarce jobs, but will fuel future flows of illegal immigration.  The president has already gutted most enforcement and eviscerated any remaining vestige of credibility in our immigration system.  Americans, represented by those in Congress, cannot permit him to take the next and final step of a unilateral amnesty for illegal aliens," concluded Stein.

The full report is available here.

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