Friday, June 16, 2017

Immigrant Cartoons





Trump scraps Obama policy that protected immigrant parents from deportation


An Obama-era immigration program intended to protect parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents from deportation has been formally cancelled, fulfilling a key campaign promise from President Trump, the Homeland Security Department announced late Thursday.
Homeland Security John Kelly formally revoked a policy memo that created the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program. The revocation came on the fifth anniversary of another effort that has protected hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.
The program to protect parents was announced by President Obama in November 2014 but was never fully launched because it was blocked by a federal court, according to Reuters.
It was intended to keep the immigrant parents safe from deportation and provide them with a renewable work permit good for two years, but it was blocked by a federal judge in Texas after 26 states filed suit against the federal government and challenged the effort’s legality.
Republicans decried the effort as “backdoor amnesty” and argued that Obama overstepped his authority by protecting a specific class of immigrants living in the United States illegally.
The protection program for parents, like the one for young immigrants, was created with a policy memo during the Obama administration. Both programs required that participants meet certain conditions, including not having a criminal history. As part of the expansion to protect immigrant parents living in the United States illegally, the Obama administration also sought to provide the young immigrants with work permits good for three years at a time. That provision was also blocked by the Texas judge.
Revoking the memo and ending the stalled program fulfill a key campaign promise by Trump, who pledged to “immediately” cancel both efforts. Trump has not said what he plans to do about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but so far most immigrants protected by the effort have not been targeted by stepped-up efforts to find and deport immigrants living in the country illegally. As of March 31, about 787,000 young immigrants have been approved for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to government data.
Arrests of immigrants in the interior of the country have increased under the Trump administration, but deportations are slightly down as fewer people have been caught crossing the Mexican border into the United States illegally.
Trump has made immigration enforcement a top priority and has vowed to continue a crackdown on those living in U.S. illegally and those trying to sneak into the country.
Reuters reported that Trump previously said that his administration was considering different options.
“They shouldn’t be very worried,” Trump told ABC News in January, referring to DACA recipients. “I do have a big heart.

Rosenstein warns Americans to 'exercise caution' about anonymous reports


Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Thursday evening that Americans should "exercise caution" before believing anonymously sourced reports, an apparent reference to ongoing leaks surrounding the investigation into alleged connections between Russian officials and President Trump's campaign.
"Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials,'" Rosenstein said in a statement, "particularly when they do not identify the country — let alone the branch or agency of government — with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated."
Though Rosenstein's statement did not reference the Russia investigation specifically, it was released hours after the Washington Post reported that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Jared Kushner — Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law — over his finances and business dealings.
ROBERT MUELLER APPOINTMENT TO LEAD RUSSIA PROBE WINS BIPARTISAN PRAISE
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, did not comment on the Post report when reached by Fox News, but did say that the special counsel's office "has undertaken stringent controls to prohibit unauthorized disclosures that deal severely with any member who engages in this conduct."
Trump and his supporters have repeatedly complained about leaked reports about the progress of Mueller's investigation, many of which have appeared in either the Post or The New York Times.
On Wednesday, the Post reported that Mueller was examining whether Trump has tried to obstruct justice and was seeking interviews with three administration officials: Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former NSA deputy director.
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's personal lawyer, responded Wednesday evening to the Post report by saying: "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal."
The Post report cited anonymous sources who were briefed on requests made by investigators. It was not immediately clear whether the FBI was the source of the information.
The president himself took to Twitter Wednesday morning to complain about the "phony story" in the Post, then did so again in the afternoon to question why Hillary Clinton's conduct during the probe of her private email server was not under more scrutiny.
Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller special counsel in the Russia investigation last month, testified to lawmakers Tuesday that he has seen no evidence of good cause to fire Mueller and that he is confident that Mueller will have "the full independence he needs" to investigate thoroughly.

Pres. Trump: Obstruction of Justice Probe is a ‘Witch Hunt’


President Trump is pushing back against reports of an obstruction of justice investigation.
In a tweet Thursday morning, the president called the investigation “phony” and a “witch hunt”.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating President Trump after he fired former FBI director James Comey last month.
Mueller is reportedly trying to determine if the administration pressured officials into killing the investigation into the president’s alleged campaign ties to Russia.
President Trump’s attorney called the leak of information to the reports “inexcusable” and “illegal.”

WATCH: OAN catches up with Bill O’Reilly


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