U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference in the White House, Washington, on Friday. AFP |
U.S. President Barack Obama suspended the threat of deportation against hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants Friday, delighting crucial Hispanic voters ahead of November's election.
"These are young people who study in
our schools, they play in our neighborhoods... they are Americans in their
heart, in their minds, in every single way but one... on paper," Obama said at
the White House.
The scheme applies to people brought to
the U.S. before the age of 16, who are currently under 30, are in school or have
graduated from high school, or have served in the military and have not been
convicted of a felony.
"Put yourself in their shoes, imagine
you have done everything right your entire life... only to suddenly face the
threat of deportation to a country you know nothing about," Obama
said.
"This is not amnesty, this is not
immunity... this is the right thing to do," said Obama, who, in an unusual
scene, was heckled by a journalist from the conservative Daily Caller website
during his remarks.
Although affected youths will be able
to apply for work permits, they will not be granted permanent residence status
or a path towards citizenship.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet
Napolitano said that only youths that had been living in the U.S. for five years
and were no threat to national security would be eligible for the
scheme.
Obama's decision will go some way to
enshrining the goals of the DREAM Act, legislation backed by the White House
that could lead to young illegal immigrants gaining permanent
residency.
The bill, opposed by Republican
presidential candidate Mitt Romney and conservatives on Capitol Hill, has
repeatedly failed to pass Congress and become law.
Romney said that although the plight of
young illegals was important, the action Obama took "makes it more difficult to
reach that long-term solution."
"I'd like to see legislation that deals
with this issue," he said, adding that he agreed with the approach of U.S.
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
Rubio, seen as a possible future
Republican presidential candidate, has a difficult line to walk on immigration
between a hawkish Republican party and a desire not to alienate Hispanic
voters.
"By once again ignoring the
constitution and going around Congress, this short-term policy will make it
harder to find a balanced and responsible long-term one," Rubio
said.
Romney's position on immigration
reform, adopted to appeal to conservative Republican primary voters, could come
back to haunt him among Hispanics in general election swing states like Colorado
and Nevada.
Other Republicans accused Obama of
overstepping his powers and of bypassing the collective will of elected
lawmakers.
"Americans should be outraged that
President Obama is planning to usurp the constitutional authority of the United
States Congress and grant amnesty by edict to one million illegal aliens," Iowa
Representative Steve King said.
"There is no ambiguity in Congress
about whether the DREAM Act's amnesty program should be the law of the
land.
"It has been rejected by Congress, and
yet President Obama has decided that he will move forward with it
anyway."
Officials said the move was not a
permanent solution to the status of illegal immigrants but offered a two-year
deferment of deportation proceedings, which could be extended by a further two
years on expiry.
Despite sparking conservative anger,
Obama's decision was however welcomed by immigration reform
groups.
"The president has given us a reason to
believe in him," said Cesar Vargas, managing partner at DRM Capitol Group, which
fights for DREAM legislation around the United States.
"We will ensure that people go out to
vote to keep this executive order alive."
Officials said the measure could impact
around 800,000 youthful illegal immigrants. The Pew Hispanic Center said up to
1.4 million children and young adults could benefit.
There are 11.5 million illegal
immigrants living in the United States, and efforts to deal with their status --
and provide a path to citizenship -- have foundered in recent years over sharp
political divisions.
In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last
month, Obama led Romney among registered Hispanic voters, 61 to 27
percent.
Obama promised to work towards
comprehensive immigration reform, a goal of the Hispanic community, when he ran
for office but has made little progress. Now the president is pledging to tackle
the issue if he wins a second term. (AFP)
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