U.S. To Suspend Countless Deportations

In a first for any administration, President Obama has implemented a new system to spare a myriad of illegal immigrants from removal by authorizing—and encouraging—low-level field officers to block deportations by using an outrageously broad list of exemptions.

The unprecedented program will allow droves of undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. by drastically expanding factors that can be considered to exercise “prosecutorial discretion.” That’s when agencies get to decide to what degree they enforce certain laws against particular individuals.

Beginning this week, federal immigration officers, attorneys and other officials can cancel the removal of an illegal immigrant that is breast feeding or pregnant, has pursued an education in the U.S., has a relative in the military, has ties and contributions to the community or a U.S.-born child (anchor baby), to name a few. A “person’s length of presence in the U.S.” will also strengthen their case to stay.

The new prosecutorial discretion guidelines are outlined in a memo issued a few days ago by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton. For the first time ever, employees from field agents to senior officials are empowered to apply the ridiculously broad criteria to help illegal immigrants avoid deportation.

Morton encourages ICE officers, agents and attorneys to quickly consider prosecutorial discretion for illegal immigrants who meet the new benchmarks instead of waiting for their advocate or counsel to “request a favorable exercise of discretion." He claims in the memo that this will “preserve government resources.”

Clearly, this is the Obama Administration’s latest effort to fulfill a secret amnesty plan in case Congress doesn’t pass legislation to legalize the nation’s 12 million undocumented immigrants. Earlier this year political appointees at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), issued a directive to enact “meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action.”

That plan includes delaying deportation indefinitely (“deferred action”), granting green cards, allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. indefinitely while they seek legal status (known as “parole in place”) and expanding the definition of “extreme hardships” so any illegal alien could meet the criteria and remain in the country.

Judicial Watch has sued the Department of Homeland Security to obtain records detailing the stealth amnesty plan because the agency has ignored a federal public records request that dates back to July 2010.