Agent of Change and Defenders of the Status Quo

November 05, 2009 - Posted by Maurice Belanger

Newsweek is running a little photo essay on its Web site titled “Obama’s Promises.”  One of the promises they list is “provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.”  Newsweek (via PolitiFact/St. Petersburg Times) rates this promise as “stalled.”

Stalled indeed.  The one-year anniversary of the election does provide a hook for reflecting on how our expectations are being met. 

One year ago, a majority of the electorate was captivated by the man who promised change; who re-invigorated the can-do spirit that used to be an American trademark.

One year later, however, we are beginning to understand that the historic election of 2008 also returned to Washington too many lawmakers who are wedded to the status quo.  Change, when it means changing the law, is a matter for Congress; there is only so much a President can do.

It is not just immigration reform that is stalled.

Health care, the number one legislative priority for the President, is still weeks away from completion in the Senate.  On energy and climate change, defenders of the status quo are not even showing up for work, denying the relevant Committee a working quorum. The President has always said that these two priorities are at the top of his agenda, along with reform of our financial system. 

Legislation is not the only measure of change, however.  There are things an administration can do to make some positive changes even within the confines of a legal system that is outdated and dysfunctional.  Since the beginning of the Administration’s term, our updates and blog posts noted the following list of positive changes:

Raids: ICE shifted its worksite enforcement to prioritize the prosecution of employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, de-emphasizing the para-military sweeps of worksites where guns and dogs were employed to round up workers.  (On the down side: the audits of employer immigration-related records are still leading to large-scale firing of workers.)

Detention Reforms: In August (and then in more detail in October), DHS announced an initiative to reform the scandal-plagued immigration detention system.

No-Match Rule Rescinded: A regulation issued late in the Bush Administration directed employers to take certain steps if they receive a letter from the Social Security Administration saying that the SSA’s records don’t match the records the employer submitted concerning an employee.  The Bush Administration would have essentially required the firing of employees with mis-matched Social Security records.  The rule was rescinded.

A Shift in Border Priorities: DHS has been shifting some of its resources allocated to securing the Southwest border to focus on reducing border violence.  This includes the detection and interdiction of guns and cash from the U.S. bound for Mexico’s drug cartels.

Budget asks: The Administration’s budget requested funding for a number of positive initiatives.  Among them: money for the Southwest border security initiative (mentioned above); money to improve the immigration detention system; funding for an immigrant integration initiative; and funding for the processing of refugee and asylum applications (which would pave the way for a reduction of the surcharge applied to applications for other immigration benefits).

287(g): ICE re-vamped its agreements with local law enforcement agencies that want to cooperate with ICE to identify and detain removable non-citizens.  The new agreements put a clearer focus on ICE priorities (to remove dangerous criminals first) and, in theory, will lead to greater accountability.  (The jury is still out on whether the new agreements will be any better than the old.)

Civil Rights Investigation of Sheriff Arpaio: The Department of Justice has launched an investigation of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio for allegedly violating the rights of thousands of Latinos.  (On the other hand, ICE renewed an agreement with Arpaio to help ICE identify and remove undocumented immigrants in the county jails.)

Relief for Widows and Widowers: In June, Secretary Napolitano granted “deferred action” for widows and widowers of US Citizens, as well as unmarried children under 18, whose residence was conditional on the petition of the deceased citizen.  (Permanent relief for widows, widowers, and related children under 18 years of age who were being sponsored by a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident was subsequently passed into law.)

H-2A Rules Rescinded: In its last days, the Bush Administration finalized rules governing the H-2A agricultural worker program that many farmworker advocates objected to.  The Obama administration has proposed new rules that will be more to the liking of worker advocates.

Elimination of Arrests Quotas:  The Administration ended arrest quotas imposed on ICE Fugitive Operations Teams.  There had been reports of Fugitive Operations Teams breaking into homes and arresting not the targeted fugitives, but anyone who happened to be in the home. (On the other hand, statements made recently by ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton indicate ICE may still detain anyone who Fugitive Operations Teams come upon in the course of an operation—they just won’t count against a quota.)

End to HIV Infection as a Bar to Entry:  The Administration has removed HIV infection from a list of diseases that made a person ineligible to enter the U.S. or adjust their status.

Not all changes have been positive—requiring federal contractors to use the E-Verify electronic worker verification system comes to mind.  However, there are limits to administrative actions that can be taken in the context of laws (passed by Congress) that mandate more enforcement and more spending on enforcement.

To the extent that immigration reform is stalled, it is the defenders of the status quo in Congress who are to blame.  The pressure has to be maintained on Congress if immigration reform is to move forward.

Photo by Flickr user Jason Rogers