Obama Admin Begins Backdoor Amnesty

Today, the Obama Administration will begin accepting applications to grant backdoor amnesty to illegal aliens who meet criteria similar to that of the failed DREAM Act. The application process, the details of which the Administration announced only yesterday, is part of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s June 15 policy memo that unilaterally grants deferred action and work authorization to illegal aliens up to the age of 30. (FAIR Legislative Update, June 19, 2012)

Alarmingly, the application process set forth by the Administration serves as nothing more than an open invitation for fraud by illegal aliens looking to game the system.  (See Instructions for Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Aug. 14, 2012; see also Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Application Form, Aug. 14, 2012) The application contains no evidentiary standards for the documents illegal aliens must show to prove they meet the Administration’s already low criteria. In fact, the application explicitly states that illegal aliens do not need to provide the government with original documentation. Moreover, there is no end to the types of documentation the Administration will accept as proof of eligibility. Rather, the Administration leaves it up to illegal aliens to submit whatever documentation they “believe is relevant” in order to gain status and work authorization.

Furthermore, the Administration backpedaled on its promise to ensure those attempting application fraud will be penalized. The guidelines issued August 3 by the Administration state that illegal aliens engaging in application fraud will be “treated as an immigration enforcement priority to the fullest extent permitted by law, and be subject to criminal prosecution and/or removal from the United States.” (See USCIS Deferred Action Guidelines)  However, the new application instructions issued yesterday merely state that the Administration “may” elect to penalize illegal aliens by denying requests for immigration benefits or placing them into removal proceedings. (See Instructions for Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals p. 8)

The Administration also announced yesterday during a stakeholder phone call that it is further weakening its already minimal criteria.  On the call, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas stated that illegal aliens need only be enrolled in an educational, literacy, or career training center (including vocational schools), that prepares them to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent to qualify for the amnesty.

Although the Administration indicated that it could be months before applications are approved, Secretary Napolitano has already stated that over a thousand illegal aliens have benefitted from the initiative. Stay tuned to FAIR as further details unfold…