Obama Administration Remains in the News on Immigration, From “Administrative Amnesty” to Release of Documents on Controversial SCOMM

The Obama administration has made much immigration news lately and seems to be alienating those on both sides of the aisle. The latest is the announcement of the administrative review of 300,000 removal cases, (see Secretary Napolitano’s letter to Senator Durbin announcing the new policy) which has been challenged as an “administrative amnesty.” Before that, the administration’s Secure Communities program, which seemingly went from a voluntary to mandatory program for state and local law enforcement agencies, has been the source of controversy for weeks. See, e.g., here, here, here.

Paloma Esquivel of the Los Angeles Times tells of the latest news about Secure Communities, which adds fuel to the fire:

“Hundreds of documents on a controversial immigration enforcement program that a federal court judge said should be made public despite their potential for `embarrassing’ immigration officials were released this week. `There is ample evidence that ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and DHS [Department of Homeland Security] have gone out of their way to mislead the public about Secure Communities,’ U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin wrote in an opinion on the release of the documents. `In particular, these agencies have failed to acknowledge a shift in policy when it is patently obvious -– from public documents and statements –- that there has been one.'”

KJ