6 executive actions Obama can take on immigration

President Barack Obama said Monday that “America cannot wait forever” for House Republicans to act on immigration reform, so he is taking matters into his own hands. He vowed to begin “a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress.”

For his first action, Obama directed Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and the Attorney General Eric Holder to move resources from the interior to the border. He also gave them until the end of the summer to identify additional actions the administration can take within existing legal authorities to “fix as much of our immigration system as we can.”

SEE ALSO: Obama done waiting for House Republicans to act on immigration reform

Now, as many wonder what additional executive actions Obama will take, advocates are calling on him to take “bold actions” to stem deportations. Meanwhile, Republicans are not happy that the president plans to pursue administrative action on immigration and are threatening to sue him over his use of executive authority.

Here are some possible executive actions Obama and his administration can take on immigration:

1. Expand deferred action

Perhaps the most popular executive action advocates are advising Obama to take is to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to benefit more undocumented immigrants. Announced in June 2012, the federal program allows undocumented youth to stay and work in the United States for a renewable period of two years. Obama could ask the Department of Homeland Security to authorize more undocumented immigrants to benefit from the DACA program if they meet certain criteria, such as qualifying for the Senate-approved immigration reform bill.

2. End Secure Communities

Many advocates are also calling on the Obama administration to do away with Secure Communities, saying it leads to racial profiling and damages the trust between local law enforcement and the immigrant community. The federal program allows local police and immigration officials to share fingerprints data of individuals who are arrested or booked into custody in order to identify undocumented immigrants. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in May that he is not looking to get rid of Secure Communities altogether. Instead, he said he wants to get a “fresh look” of the federal program.

3. Enlist in the military

Undocumented youth who want to serve in the U.S. military are hoping that the Department of Defense change its policies to allow them to enlist. Under current law, only U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents and people who are “vital to the national interest” can enlist in the military. In June, the Pentagon said it was considering allowing DACA recipients to join the military and be put on an expedited path to citizenship but only if they have distinctive medical or language skills. Two separate bills that would allow undocumented youth to serve in the U.S. military were recently introduced in the Republican-controlled House, but both bills were blocked.

4. Grant parole in place

The Department of Homeland Security could grant parole in place to undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States. This would temporarily protect immigrants from deportation and grant them a work permit if they meet certain criteria, such as being immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. In 2010, the Obama administration began a policy of granting parole in place to spouses, parents and children of military members. The administration could implement similar policies to grant parole in place to other groups of immigrants.

5. Expand humanitarian parole

The Obama administration could expand humanitarian parole to parents and siblings of DACA recipients as well as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. This would allow family members who’ve been deported or had to leave the U.S. to come back to the country and reunite with their families. Currently, humanitarian parole is granted to individuals “based on urgent humanitarian reasons or if there is a significant public benefit.” The Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a memo that expanding humanitarian parole “is an appropriate tool to advance family unity and heal families who have been separated by deportations.”

6. Priority for deportation

The Associated Press reported in April that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is considering whether to allow people who have little or no criminal record but have repeatedly violated immigration laws — such as re-entering the country illegally after having been deported or failing to comply with a deportation order — to stay in the United States. Currently, immigrants who re-entered the country illegally after having been deported previously are considered to be a high priority for deportation. Among those pushing for that to change is John Sandweg, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

SEE ALSO: One year after Senate passage: How immigration reform slowly died