According to reports, President Trump will sign an executive order Friday ending “unconstitutional executive amnesty,” which translates to President Obama’s 2014 executive actions on illegal immigration.
Former Townhall White House correspondent Conn Carroll covered the details of Obama’s moves at the time:
What actions is Obama taking specifically?
The key to Obama’s new immigration policy is the creation of one new amnesty program and the expansion of another.
Specifically, Obama’s new amnesty program will give illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for at least five years, and who are parents of U.S. citizens or legal residents, a three year work permit. This permit will also allow them to obtain a Social Security number and get a driver’s license. Pew estimates that 3.5 million current illegal immigrants will qualify for this program.
Obama is also expanding the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals amnesty program. Previously only those illegal immigrants who were born before 1981 and entered the U.S. as a minor before 2007 were eligible for benefits. Now all illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as a minor before 2010 will be eligible for amnesty. Like the parents above, DACA recipients will also get work permits, Social Security numbers, and driver’s licenses. Pew estimates that 235,00 illegal immigrants will gain eligibility for benefits through this program expansion.
Trump’s action to reverse executive amnesty will likely cause the most controversy of any so far and will certainly result in advocacy groups like the ACLU filing lawsuits. Sanctuary city mayors are also likely to triple down on their battle against federal immigration enforcement efforts.
It is important to point out President Obama admitted numerous times he couldn’t issue amnesty through his pen. He did so anyway, knowing it was illegal and unconstitutional.
“Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting. I promise you. Not just on immigration reform. But that’s not how our system works. That’s not how our democracy functions. That’s not how our Constitution is written,” Obama told the National Council of La Raza in 2011.
