SMITH: Crippling backdoor amnesty
Obama administration plans to turn a blind eye to illegals
By Rep. Lamar Smith

The Washington Times

7:33 p.m., Friday, July 8, 2011

Although the American people have de- feated amnesty for illegal immigrants in recent years, this is not stopping President Obama and his administration from trying a backdoor amnesty. Over the past year, the administration has sought to circumvent Congress and use executive-branch authority to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States.

Last month, administration officials caved to pressure from their liberal base and announced changes to Secure Communities. This program keeps our neighborhoods safe by identifying illegal and criminal immigrants in police custody who have been arrested and fingerprinted. The changes made by the administration could open the door to allow millions of illegal and criminal immigrants to avoid current immigration laws.

Specifically, the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued two memos to agency officials on how to exercise “prosecutorial discretion,â€