Politics

Will the 2 Millionth Immigrant Deported by Obama Please Kick Him in the Ass?

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What with the Hindenburg-style rollout of Obamacare, the continuing sluggishness in the economy, and ongoing revelations about IRS/NSA/Benghazi "phony scandals" that have somehow hurt Barack Obama's popularity, it's hard to keep track of just how many immigrants the president has been busy deporting.

Here's a disturbing reminder that, despite token gestures toward "dreamers," Obama has been absolutely godawful on the matter.

President Obama is closing in on a record. Sometime around the end of this year, he will have deported 2 million undocumented immigrants, more than any other president….

The Obama administration should put the brakes on its deportation train. The president has the authority to offer temporary relief from immigration removals. With reform stalled, the president ought to stop trying to appease Republicans by being strong on immigration enforcement. He should consider executive action.

Read the whole article from USA Today.

Oh, but don't you see, it's politics what's tying the pesident's hands? If he issued ex cathedra orders—exactly like he has with aspects of Obamacare and bombing Libya and creating secret kill lists—he'd risk upsetting Republicans.

The nation's immigration system is a mess because more people want to live and work here than are allowed by law. The only way that will change is either be expanding the number of legal slots or making the country so awful that nobody wants to move here (I know, I know, we're getting there).

There's no question that the GOP is terrible on the issue, but so is the president. And he's the one who can actually stop deportations with the flick of his wrist. So why won't he?