This afternoon, the House Immigration Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement held a hearing on the \u201cHinder the Administration\u2019s Legalization Temptation Act\u201d or the HALT Act (H.R. 2497), introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. <\/p>\n
The hearing focused on the many ways in which the Obama Administration has used its \u201cprosecutorial discretion\u201d\u2014the ability of the executive branch to decline to enforce immigration law against individuals on a case-by-case basis\u2014to usurp Congress\u2019 authority to enact immigration policy. In particular, the hearing focused on a string of policy memos issued by ICE Director, John Morton. Rather than granting relief to select aliens on a case-by-case basis, these memos set blanket policies telling ICE officers whom they should and shouldn\u2019t enforce the law against. <\/p>\n
In his opening statement, Rep. Lamar Smith focused on Obama\u2019s latest abuse of prosecutorial discretion\u2014a June 17, 2011 memo issued by Morton authorizing ICE personnel to decline to enforce immigration laws against those who meet qualifications for amnesty under the failed DREAM Act. \u201cWhat had once been rumor fueled by leaked administration memos is now official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy as of last month,\u201d said Rep. Smith. \u201cDHS\u2019s plan to open the door to mass administrative amnesty is a rejection of Congress\u2019 constitutional rights and shows utter disdain towards the wishes of the American people,\u201d he further asserted. Despite Congress\u2019 repeated rejection of the DREAM Act amnesty legislation over the last decade, the Obama Administration insists on granting an administrative amnesty to this subset of the illegal alien population using its prosecutorial discretion. <\/p>\n
The HALT Act sends the needed message that not only is Congress tired of the Administration\u2019s continued attempts to bypass its authority over immigration law, but that the American people have also grown tired of Obama\u2019s abuse of power. If enacted, the HALT Act would prevent the Administration from further abusing its prosecutorial discretion to grant administrative amnesty to certain classes of illegal aliens by suspending its ability to:
\n\u2022\tGrant deferred action to illegal aliens;
\n\u2022\tGrant parole or extended voluntary departure to illegal aliens who do not meet narrowly defined criteria;
\n\u2022\tCancel the removal and adjust the status of illegal aliens ordered deported; and
\n\u2022\tGrant work authorization to illegal aliens. <\/p>\n
Stay tuned to FAIR\u2019s Legislative Update for more on today\u2019s hearing\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This afternoon, the House Immigration Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement held a hearing on the \u201cHinder the Administration\u2019s Legalization Temptation Act\u201d or the HALT Act (H.R. 2497), introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing focused on the many ways in which the Obama Administration has used its<\/p>\n