It’s been a while since Obama has sworn to take executive action when it comes to immigration reform yet the question remains as to how far he can go with this.
In voicing the thoughts of Obama and his advisors, the New York Times editorial board, very recently wrote, “For Mr. Obama to use the tools at hand to focus on high-priority targets — felons, violent criminals, public-safety and national-security threats — and to let many others alone would be a rational and entirely lawful exercise of discretion. It is the kind of thing prosecutors, police and other law-enforcement and regulatory agencies do every day.”
That said, this business of prosecutorial discretion is a lot more complex than it is given credit for while the implications involved with taking such action is not as clear either.
In other words, the federal government will never the resources to enforce every law but most importantly, making these laws lie solely in the hand of Congress. Of course, the President might have extra authority to use these powers when dealing with a dysfunctional Congress but this only applies to situations that can be regarded as a crisis much like the failure to raise the debt ceiling. Unfortunately, immigration reform does not necessarily fall into this category.
So, no matter what Obama says he will do, there is no doubt that it is in his best interests to focus on Congress’ priorities and implement the law in a manner that ensures he remains on firm legal ground.