Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) — Advocates for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are insisting that President Barack Obama halt most deportations, saying he is expelling people his fellow Democrats would let stay in the country.
The change in tactics comes as some Republicans now support a path to legal status — not citizenship — for many of the nation's 12 million undocumented immigrants, though Republican House Speaker John Boehner isn't moving to revamp immigration laws this year.
Churches and labor groups, including the AFL-CIO, are using the appearance of common ground to force Obama to change policies that lead to about 1,000 deportations a day, more than under any other president. They say Obama could gain favor with Hispanic voters before the November congressional elections by easing deportations, as he did before his 2012 re-election.
"Some of the organizations that were spending almost all of their time putting pressure on Republicans have now changed their focus to putting pressure on this administration," Representative Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat who has worked on immigration issues for two decades in Congress, said in an interview. "And these are friends and allies."
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
