Obama May Use Executive Order on Amnesty

Wed, Aug 20 2014 00:00:00 E A13_ISSUEby JENNY BETH MARTIN   , Investor's Business Daily

There are a lot of good reasons for President Obama to steer clear of executive amnesty for illegal immigrants.

An early August Reuters/Ipsos survey shows an astonishing 77% of Americans believe illegal immigration threatens American beliefs and customs, with another 63% saying illegal immigration puts a burden on our economy.

A member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights wrote President Obama earlier this month warning that executive amnesty for illegal immigrants would be "disastrous" for the job prospects of the unemployed, "particularly black Americans." Not the ideal legacy for America's first black president.

Even American Hispanics want illegal immigrant minors returned home. The latest YouGov/Economist research shows a mere 11% of Hispanics believe these minors should be allowed to remain in the U.S. and nearly two-thirds believe they should be returned to their families in their country of origin.

The breadth, intensity and uniformity of opposition to amnesty is striking and suggests that support for it is anathema to any political party or politician on the ballot this November.

Yet in spite of overwhelming antipathy on the issue, we continue hearing that Obama is prepared to take unilateral action despite all indications of great political risk.

This is not the first time this administration has confronted such a dynamic. ObamaCare was similarly (though not as vehemently) opposed by the American people.

At no time before or since the Affordable Care Act took effect has a majority supported it, yet congressional Democrats passed it without a single Republican vote and Obama signed it into law.

It loomed large in the 2010 midterm elections in which Democrats were "shellacked," as Obama observed, but the president didn't suffer any personal political repercussions, winning a second term two years later by a comfortable margin.

With reelection no longer an issue for Obama, the man is further emboldened to inflict upon Americans another policy they do not want. The picture that emerges is one in which the president places his radical ideology above even that of his own party.

Democrats lost the House in the wake of ObamaCare following the 2010 midterm elections, and illegal immigration may well be a factor in his party's loss of a Senate majority this November. Time will tell.

But would Obama actually sacrifice the prospects of the Democratic Party on the altar of amnesty? Absolutely.  It's called Long Ball — focusing on the long-term impact of something rather than the immediate or near-term consequences.

Source: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/081914-713893-obama-playing-long-ball-when-it-comes-to-immigration.htm