Activists: We Want An Emancipator, Not A 'Deporter In Chief'

Via NPR:

"Activists who support an overhaul of the immigration system are angry and frustrated. The immigration bill that passed in the Senate in June is stalled out. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is on pace to deport some 2 million illegal immigrants since taking office six years ago."

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Advocate at White House Immigration Meeting: Obama didn't listen to us

On Friday, President Obama met with 17 immigration reform advocates at the White House to discuss the fact that he has recently been the object of public derision and shame over his indefensible deportation record. The meeting was described as "sometimes tense but mostly cordial," with the President talking down to the participants. From one unnamed attendee: "It had the feel of him schooling us, but it didn't have the feel of him listening to us."

The attendee further explained that the meeting was more about Obama challenging advocates by demanding a shift of political strategy back to blaming the Republicans than about what steps the President can actually take to do something to stop his deportation machine from needlessly destroying millions of families. 

Anyone surprised?

Here is the full list of the attendees:

Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security
John Podesta, Counselor to the President
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President
Cecilia Munoz, Director of Domestic Policy Council
Katie Beirne Fallon, Director of Legislative Affairs
Deepak Bhargava, Center for Community Change
Angie Kelley, Center for American Progress
Marielena Hincapie, National Immigration Law Center
Eliseo Medina, Fast for Families
Frank Sharry, America’s Voice
Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO
Ali Noorani, National Immigration Forum
Arturo Rodriguez, United Farm Workers
Mee Moua, Asian American Justice Center
Gustavo Torres, Casa de Maryland
Gabriel Salguero, NALEC
Angelica Salas, CHIRLA
Mary Kay Henry, SEIU
Karen Narasaki, CAMBIO
Lorella Praeli, United We Dream
Janet Murguía, National Council of La Raza
Eddie Carmona, PICO

Click here for the original source of this article.

Bowing to Pressure from Advocates Obama Calls for Review on Deportations

President Obama for months has repeatedly stated that he is powerless to curb his record deportations by further expanding prosecutorial discretion initiatives such as deferred action or parole in place.  It appears he found his powers again after meeting with three leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss the fact that he is getting slammed in the press and on social media over his deportation record.

The strategy of pressuring the White House has clearly weakened the President's resolve, as he has flip-flopped again stating his willingness to review deportation policies to ensure that people are deported as humanly as possible, because when you are destroying a family with deportation you want to make sure that it is done humanely.  Apparently, Obama is only powerless when the focus is solely on the GOP's failure to move reform legislation through the House.

Keep the pressure up, as it is Kryptonite to this President.

Jeh Johnson already Mischaracterizing the Nature of Obama's Deportations

It has been reported that newly coined Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson had the following to say about the administration's deportation priorities:

We are enforcing the law. We are enforcing the law vigorously and effectively, which results in the removal of over 300,000 people a year over the last several years. We are using the resources Congress gave us to remove those we believe are threats to national security, public safety and border security. And they result in the numbers that you see.

I guess he didn't read the latest press release from the Immigration Policy Center that shows that most immigrants deported by ICE in 2013 were a threat to no one. 

From the press release:

Despite claims by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that it prioritizes the apprehension of terrorists, violent criminals, and gang members, the agency’s own deportation statistics do not bear this out. Rather, most of the individuals being swept up by ICE and dropped into the U.S. deportation machine committed relatively minor, non-violent crimes or have no criminal histories at all.

Busted.

Secretary Johnson also claims that recent deportation numbers mostly consist of individuals apprehended by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the border, attempting to enter illegally.

Or maybe not.

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has concluded that immigrants apprehended by CBP that have been living and working within the interior of the country for years are lumped into the "border crossers" statistic. The IPC explains that the distinction between “border removals” and “interior removals” is not "clear-cut" because border removal statistics include all removals of individuals taken into custody by CBP. CBP statistics include arrests of individuals generated by roving patrols “near” the border. CBP also generates arrest from checkpoints set up in the interior of the country. Moreover, the definition of “recent border crossers” includes individuals that entered the United States within the last three years. 

The more things "Change" the more they stay the same.

Click here if you want to see the actual facts about the nature of the Obama administration's recent deportations.