"...as a short-term political tactic it's a masterstroke."

[babylonsister]

http://swampland.time.com/2012/06/15/no-deportation-for-young-illegals-obamas-end-run-on-immigration-reform/?iid=sl-main-lede

No Deportation for Young ‘Illegals’: Obama’s End Run on Immigration Reform
By Adam Sorensen | @adamsorensen | June 15, 2012

The president's circumvention of Congress on the issue of deporting young undocumented immigrants is sure to rile Republicans, but as a short-term political tactic it's a masterstroke.

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images

US President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House on June 15, 2012 on immigration. Obama spoke about the Department of Homeland Security's announcement to not deport young illegal immigrants based on their security risk and other criteria.



On Friday, the Obama Administration announced it would no longer deport young undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children, have lived here for five or more years, have no criminal record and have completed some schooling or military service. A memo from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano described the move as “prosecutorial discretion,” a reminder that immigration laws are not “designed to be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual circumstances.” Such consideration won’t be enough for Jose Antonio Vargas, who wrote about his experience as an “out” undocumented immigrant in TIME: He was born 1 year too early to qualify. But for as many as 800,000 illegal immigrants who are now eligible for work permits, and for President Obama, the reprieve could change everything.

“They are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper,” Obama said in an afternoon speech at the White House. ”This is not amnesty. This is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship…. It’s the right thing to do.”

The decision lies at the intersection of some of Obama’s most important legacies. Even while the President sought to provide permanent residency to young undocumented immigrants through the failed DREAM Act, he oversaw an unprecedented expansion in deportations–1.2 million in just 3 1/2 years, compared to 1.6 million in Bush’s 8-year term. Friday’s move was the first sign that the rising tide of deportations, opposed by immigration reform advocates, might recede. It was also a harbinger of broader executive branch power, which has expanded under George W. Bush and Obama, in part as a response to historic levels of congressional recalcitrance. Instead of relying on Congress to institute the DREAM Act, Obama ordered his government to observe a near-approximation of its goals.

snip//

There are other political nuances to consider: This comes at the end of a very bad month for Obama and at the beginning of a highly-touted Romney bus tour. It’s another example of Obama’s incremental approach to social issues (like gay marriage) that are close to the hearts of his young liberal base. It might make more permanent, bipartisan immigration legislation harder to achieve. Even if mainstream Republicans are caught in an uncomfortable political position, outside spending groups who oppose illegal immigration may yet punish the President with a harsh economic message. But ultimately, this is a story about 800,000 people whom the federal government now classifies differently. “This is huge. HUGE,” Vargas wrote Friday on his Facebook page. “The struggle and fight continues for the remaining millions of us without legal status, but this is a BIG, BOLD and NECESSARY step in the right direction.”

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Politically, it is a masterstroke with no downside.

At worst, it will be a wash.

Obama has cemented the Hispanic and Asian vote, and now they will have a reason to turn out.

Romney & Co are in a corner. They will support it and lose the rabid right/racist vote or make utterances about there being a "better way" which will win them nothing, or come out strongly against it, which will cement the right wing who are going to vote for them anyway.

And, it is a step in the right direction.

[longship]

2. A little Obama Ju-Jitsu (sp?)

Use your opponent's strength to flip him on his ass.

[Zalatix]

4. Or shove the enemy's head further up their own you-know-what.

[jillan]

3. Could President Obama be working on his chess game once again?

Romney was already being defeated by the Latino vote - now he doesn't have a chance in hell - even on the planet Kolob.

The Arizona Republic(an) Newspaper even praised this move. And just the thought of what is going thru Brewer's & Sheriff Joe's teeny little minds right now

Brewer actually had the nerve to call it a political move! Brewer who only one the election because of SB1070

[The Wielding Truth]

6. He hasn't stopped. He has had so much planned for his second term. He needs to have us stop the RW.

[turtlerescue1]

5. Score ONE for the Good guy

[madrchsod]

7. it`s about time......