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U.S Immigration update

A group of House Republicans almost caused the temporary shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

Last November, President Obama announced a set of executive actions designed to stem the deportation of millions of illegal immigrants that have been living in the U.S. for many years. The actions, which would allow over five million illegals to ‘come out of the shadows,’ were vehemently opposed by Republicans on Capitol Hill. Even many Democrats voiced their dislike of the President’s use of executive action over seeking a legislative solution in Congress.

Some of the most vocal Republicans immediately sought a way to override the President’s actions, and found their target in the DHS spending bill, which was set to expire on February 27th. By adding a rider to the bill, the opponents attempted to ensure that any funding would include provisions to block the executive actions. Although the House approved legislation including the rider, Senate Democrats repeatedly blocked the bill from coming to the floor. With only hours left until a DHS shut-down on Friday night, the two sides agreed to a week-long funding bill to keep the Department open through this week.

Following repeated calls from Democrats and centrist Republicans in both the House and Senate, Congress finally passed a so-called ‘clean’ spending bill recently, without the executive action rider. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law immediately. Although House Speaker John Boehner was able to get enough support to pass the clean bill, 167 of the 254 Republicans he leads voted against it. In supporting the $40bn spending bill, House Speaker John Boehner appealed to his colleagues, saying that although he still wants to override the President’s actions, the powerful block from Senate Democrats meant that they had to separate the two issues to ensure that DHS would receive the funding it needs to protect the country. The House is expected to pick up separate legislation aimed at overriding the executive actions in the near future.

In addition to the DHS funding crisis, President Obama’s executive orders also face a legal test after a Texas district judge issued an injunction on the president’s immigration initiative in February. Acting on a lawsuit brought by 26 states, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen argued that Obama lacked authority to carry out much of the initiative he announced in November to allow up to five million more illegal immigrants to obtain work permits and reprieves from deportation. The Obama administration moved on February 23rd to reverse the district judge’s ruling by appealing. 

 

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