re: #357 thedopefishlives

Pro tip: The executive branch gets to enforce the laws.

Sort of but not really.
Why some illegal immigrants aren’t celebrating Obama’s new policy

The catch, says Mr. Rico, is that ICE still holds the authority – Obama is only asking it to defer deportations. So far, the agency that has to some extent stonewalled the president’s previous calls to go easy on younger Latino immigrants. ICE deported a record 396,906 people during fiscal year 2011.

Obama has already attempted to rein in ICE. Last August, for example, he asked it to deport only the worst and most hardened criminals. But many undocumented immigrants do not trust the agency, and that might prevent them from coming “out of the shadows,” as Sen. Richard Durbin (D) of Illinois put it, to apply for a deferral.

“We’ve got one person, Obama, saying you’re going to be safe,” says Rico.

The Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, essentially acknowledge that in a press release. “Deferred action requests are decided on a case-by-case basis. DHS cannot provide any assurance that all such requests will be granted. The use of prosecutorial discretion confers no substantive right, immigration status or pathway to citizenship. Only the Congress, acting through its legislative authority, can confer these rights.”

It remains to be seen how much of an effect Obama’s Presidential order will have.