DHS chief ‘recommended’ and supports Obama’s immigration actions
Josh Hicks
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will visit one of the nation’s busiest border stations on Friday to brief department employees on the president’s immigration actions. (AP/Charles Dharapak)
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson claimed some of the credit for President Obama’s immigration plans on Thursday, saying in a letter to employees that he “recommended” and supports every aspect of the initiative.
During a prime-time address, Obama laid out actions that include administrative relief and work permits for as many as 4 million undocumented immigrants, including foreign-born parents of U.S. citizens and young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.
Johnson said the initiative came about through “candid and extended consultations” with leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“Many of the actions the president will announce tonight must be implemented by you,” he wrote in the letter to Homeland Security employees.
Johnson added that the plan is “well within our legal authority to direct and implement,” responding to critics who have questioned Obama’s power to act on his own.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said in a statement on Thursday that the president’s actions are “unconstitutional” and amount to “amnesty to millions of unlawful immigrants.”
“History has proven that unilateral action on immigration simply perpetuates a cycle of illegal entry into this country,” McCaul added.
The president on Thursday challenged Congress to pass legislation that would address the immigration system comprehensively.
In addition to the relief for some undocumented immigrants, the administration intends to refocus deportation efforts on felons, gang members and recent border-crossers, which he referred to as the “actual threats to our security.”
Johnson said he will travel to the McAllen, Texas Customs and Border Protection station, one of the busiest in the nation, to brief members of the Homeland Security workforce with department leaders.