Obama: Sending Back Children and Installing More Agents

President Barack Obama became tired of waiting. He is fed up with Congress not acting on immigration reform and will act by himself on the issue, which has been a priority during his second term. His plan is open; he awaits recommendations and will announce it at the end of the summer. For now, he has requested more agents and resources to patrol the border with Mexico, in addition to speeding up the deportation process of the more than 52,000 minors who have arrived unaccompanied to the U.S. since last October.

The president’s decision means there will be no immigration reform in the near future, and it is unlikely to happen during the remainder of his administration. That is so, in spite of Obama seeking changes in immigration laws and a path to citizenship for more than 11 million people who live and work here without papers – not only for the good of the economy and immigrant families, but also to conclude his presidency with a significant victory.

However, Obama ignoring Congress and changing some rules opens another negative chapter in the president’s domestic policy and starts a new war with Republicans, with whom he has never been able to agree on health care reform, the budget, government spending, or stricter gun control. Just last week, the conservative Speaker of the House John Boehner talked about the possibility of legally suing the president for exceeding his powers and making changes via executive order, such as in the case of gay rights and equal pay for women.

Now, we have before us immigration changes, where by the way, the president’s power is very limited. He has asked Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to suggest measures that will not require authorization from Congress, but he has asked that same legislative body to give him more power to quickly deport minors, most of whom are children from Central America, who have arrived without their parents. The policy until now has been that Washington does not deport children who have crossed the border alone.

Two million people have been deported during Obama’s presidency so far, and although according to the White House the deportations have focused on criminals and dangerous individuals, in many cases the U.S. has expelled decent working immigrants and heads of families who did not commit crimes or perhaps committed a traffic offense.

Among the specific measures Obama could take is extending the executive order he issued in 2012 when he allowed so-called “Dreamers” – youth who were brought over as children – to stay in the U.S. with legal status and without fear of deportation. Activist groups want the president to extend that authorization to the parents of these young people and other workers who contribute to the economy.

They are asking the president to prohibit local authorities in towns and cities from acting as federal agents, asking for proof of legal status from those who live in their communities, which has so far only served to facilitate deportations. They suggest that Obama issue a massive presidential pardon to the millions of illegal immigrants, which would not give them citizenship but allow them to live and work here legally. The president has the authority to do it, but it is not expected that he will use it; after all, he is one of the presidents who have issued the least amount of pardons during their presidency.

Republicans argue that the current crisis proves that immigration reform cannot happen until the borders are “secure.” This means not only that it will not happen during this administration, but perhaps, not even after 2017 either because there will never be a secure border. Over the course of our history, there has never been a border in the world that was impenetrable, or that couldn’t be crossed if the will was there.