It is time to take action
President Barack Obama finally publicly recognized that with this House of Representatives, the only path toward making necessary changes to immigration laws is executive action. We hope that now, actions follow the words.
The Monday announcement was accompanied by a letter to Congress requesting authority and the funding needed to confront the humanitarian crisis in the southern border arising from the arrival of tens of thousands of minors. This is a combination of funding to reinforce the border and deport people, and authority for the Homeland Security secretary to act at his discretion during the crisis.
Within this context, and recognizing that the wait for a reform in the House is over, comes the announcement that the president’s patience ran out and it is time for executive action. This is not the first time Obama orders members of his cabinet to review his executive options when it comes to immigration.
It is necessary for the president to act to stop the pressure weighing on millions of immigrant families today.
Inevitably, executive orders will stir up Republican criticism toward the White House for what they call an “imperial presidency.” This is a vicious cycle that begins with an obstructionist Congresseven worse now in an election yearleading to presidential proposals that force the president to act on his own through executive orders, which lead to accusations that he is evading Congress.
What matters is for there to truly be concrete executive measures that stop, at least, some categories of deportations.
Obama took the first step, warning the public about measures that must be taken given that the House of Representatives gave up on fulfilling its work of negotiating and legislating. We hope and trust that these are not empty threats from the president. The White House, better than anyone, knows that for a long time, people in Washington have toyed with the hopes of millions of immigrants.
