Thread: DHS Johnson: Immigration AMNESTY changes 'simple common sense'

Johnson: Immigration changes 'simple common sense'

Associated Press
By ERICA WERNER 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is set to tell GOP critics that President Barack Obama's new immigration changes amount to "simple common sense.

Johnson defends the policies in testimony prepared for a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Tuesday. The executive actions Obama announced two weeks ago will shield some 4 million immigrants here illegally from deportation, as long as they've been in the U.S. more than five years and have kids who are citizens or legal permanent residents.

"The reality is that, given our limited resources, these people are not priorities for removal — it's time we acknowledge that and encourage them to be held accountable," Johnson says in the testimony. "This is simple common sense."

Republicans who won full control of Congress in November's midterm elections don't see it that way and are vowing to stop Obama, though how they will do so remains unclear. Lawmakers returning from a week-long Thanksgiving break plan to meet on the issue in the days ahead.

"The president's decision to bypass Congress and grant amnesty to millions of unlawful immigrants is unconstitutional and a threat to our democracy," the committee's chairman, Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, said in a statement. "I will use every tool at my disposal to stop the president's unconstitutional actions from being implemented, starting with this oversight hearing."

Johnson's appearance on Capitol Hill also comes as he has emerged as a possible candidate to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Johnson's role in crafting the immigration changes could complicate that, giving Republicans an outlet to vent their opposition to the policies.

In his testimony, Johnson embraces the policies and takes credit for them. "I recommended to the president each of the Homeland Security reforms to the immigration system that he has decided to pursue," Johnson says in the prepared remarks.

Obama's immigration measures also expand an existing program that grants work permits and deportation deferrals to immigrants brought here illegally as kids, and the administrative actions also reorder law enforcement priorities to focus on new arrivals and people with criminal records.

http://news.yahoo.com/johnson-immigr...-politics.html

Architect of Obama’s executive order comes under Hill scrutiny

By Seung Min Kim
12/1/14 10:51 PM EST

The architect of President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, setting up the first big public clash between the White House and Republicans in Congress over the directive that shields millions of undocumented immigrants from deportations.

Jeh Johnson, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who crafted the plan Obama unveiled two weeks ago, plans to fiercely defend it, despite intense criticism from a band of Republicans who have vowed to tie the president’s actions to funding the government and cabinet confirmation hearings.

Just hours before Johnson was scheduled to appear before the angry Republican-controlled panel, the Associated Press reported that Johnson told Obama he no longer wished to be considered to take over for Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel — a move that could prevent the confirmation of the next defense secretary from turning into a proxy war over immigration.

But still Republicans plan to take their shots at him Tuesday. The House Homeland Security Committee is set to preview the scrutiny that Obama’s unilateral actions will face during the rest of the lame-duck session and into next year.

“The president’s decision to bypass Congress and grant amnesty to millions of unlawful immigrants is unconstitutional and a threat to our democracy,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who will vow to “use every tool at my disposal” to block the executive actions from being implemented.

Key GOP lawmakers on Monday signaled that they will have no mercy in grilling Johnson over Obama’s immigration actions – a move that is overwhelmingly opposed by Republicans on Capitol Hill, who are scrambling to come up with a response.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), a senior member on the committee, said he plans to question Johnson on the timing of the executive action, details on the level of security on the southern border, and the scope of the directive that Obama announced nearly two weeks ago.

“How far can the president go in an executive order?” King said Monday, noting that despite his opposition to the executive action, he holds Johnson in high regard. “This is almost like a mass amnesty, almost, and the degree of it, I think, it’s unprecedented.”

Johnson will offer a defense of the sweeping executive actions issued last month that will shield some 5 million undocumented immigrants from being deported, according to his prepared remarks – noting that he personally recommended each of the Homeland Security changes to Obama.

Because of limited resources for immigration enforcement, it’s “simple common sense” to recognize that the immigrants protected by the executive action aren’t a priority for deportations, Johnson argues. Instead, they should be held accountable, the secretary adds.

“The reality is that undocumented immigrants … have been in this country for years, raising American families and developing ties to the community,” Johnson plans to tell the House committee, according to his prepared testimony. “Many of these individuals have committed no crimes and are not enforcement priorities. It is time that we acknowledge this as a matter of official policy and encourage eligible individuals to come out of the shadows, submit to criminal and national security background checks, and be held accountable.”

Johnson’s testimony comes amid some movement within House Republicans on how the conference will formally respond to Obama’s executive action. House GOP leaders are beginning to coalesce around a two-step strategy that would allow them to respond to Obama’s executive action and avoid a potential government shutdown – a plan they’ll start selling to their members during a closed-door session Tuesday morning.

Republican leaders are pushing for a measure from Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) that states that the executive branch cannot exempt “by executive order, regulation, or any other means, categories of persons unlawfully present in the United States from removal under the immigration laws.” Meanwhile, top Republicans are advocating for a so-called “Cromnibus” that will fund nearly all federal government agencies through September 2015, while keeping money for immigration enforcement agencies on a shorter funding leash.

Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee will hold its own hearing later Tuesday on Obama’s executive actions with assorted legal experts and immigration advocates examining whether the directives are constitutional – a move that the panel’s chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), called an “unprecedented power grab.”

Still, Johnson – who was confirmed to his current job by a 78-16 vote last year – is well liked by many Republican lawmakers who have praised the way he has run the beleaguered Homeland Security Department, aside from his role in Obama’s immigration executive actions.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters on Monday evening that Johnson is an “outstanding guy,” and noted that he worked closely with Johnson when he served as the top lawyer at the Pentagon.

“At the end of the day, it’s President Obama that I’m upset with, not the people around him,” said Graham, one of the co-authors of the Senate immigration reform bill that passed last year.

But a Johnson nomination to lead the Pentagon was almost sure to inject Obama’s controversial immigration directive into the DOD confirmation fight – which was already set to be a contentious battle over the administration’s foreign policy.

“Secretary Johnson is not the right nominee for the Department of Defense because he does not have the depth of understanding that we need at this point in history,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a top critic of Obama’s immigration policies.

When a reporter noted that Johnson used to be the Pentagon’s top counsel, Sessions responded: “He was a lawyer. We need somebody who’s been in the Middle East, who knows what’s going on, who can make judgments the American people can believe are independent judgments by someone of integrity, not someone who’s mouthing the policies of the White House.”

The White House has not given a formal timeline on when Obama will name Hagel’s successor, although the announcement could come as early as this week. Other top candidates in consideration are former Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, as well as current Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, former State Department official Kurt Campbell and former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.

Others initially floated for the Defense secretary job include Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy, who have both said they do not want the job.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/1...8.html?hp=t2_r

“Many of these individuals have committed no crimes and are not enforcement priorities. It is time that we acknowledge this as a matter of official policy and encourage eligible individuals to come out of the shadows, submit to criminal and national security background checks, and be held accountable.”

That's just not true! It would be almost impossible to live and work here illegally for 5+ years without committing any crimes. The vast majority of them have, at one time or another, used false identification, driven without a driver's license or insurance, obtained/used the identity of others to hold jobs, lied to law enforcement, lied on various documents to obtain a benefit (job, welfare, tax return, etc.). Please, can anyone tell me how someone can live here illegally for years without breaking the law?

Action needed here!!!! LETS ROLL!

http://www.alipac.us/f8/stop-these-g...ictate-315410/

Obama's "Deferred Action" Program for Illegal Aliens Is Plainly Unconstitutional