In the days following the midterm election, President Obama may be preparing to spring controversial decisions on the American people including immigration amnesty and the choice for a new attorney general replacing Eric Holder.
"It’s extraordinary that he is thinking about taking certain types of action that will have broad effects on our economy, on the makeup of our country, on virtually every aspect of American life," Richard Kelsey, assistant dean at the George Mason University School,
told The Washington Times.
The most far-reaching change on the White House agenda is the president’s plan to issue an executive order effectively granting amnesty to at least some of the estimated 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States. Obama had initially planned to take action in September but decided not to do so after embattled Democratic lawmakers protested it would create a popular backlash that could doom their re-election chances.
The administration has given no indication how expansive the amnesty would be, although the Homeland Security Department has reportedly purchased enough paper to print more than 4 million visa and green cards next year. The documents would enable illegals to legally work in the United States and possibly qualify for some federal benefits.
Such a move is likely to trigger an intense political battle with Republicans, uniting amnesty opponents like Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions with lawmakers like Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida, all of whom supported last year’s controversial "Gang of 8" bill. The measure, backed by the Obama administration, would have provided a path to citizenship for millions of illegals.
Rubio, McCain, and Graham warned Obama in a letter that broad executive action this year would be detrimental to more permanent changes to the immigration system.
"Acting by executive order on an issue of this magnitude would be the most divisive action you could take — completely undermining any good-faith effort to meaningfully address this important issue, which would be a disservice to the needs of the American people," the three senators wrote Obama.
Another decision Obama has put off until after Election Day is his choice to replace Holder, who announced in September that he is leaving the Justice Department.
Mr. Obama is believed to be giving strong consideration to Thomas Perez, who served as assistant attorney general for civil rights until he became secretary of labor in July 2013. Conservative critics say Perez is a left-liberal ideologue who may prove more confrontational and aggressive than Holder.
The Heritage Foundation’s Hans Von Spakovsky, for example,
claims that Perez has used "disparate impact" (a controversial legal theory which posits that even if there is no discriminatory intent, a law or business practice can be held discriminatory if it is deemed to have a "disparate impact" on a particular racial or ethnic group) to "extort huge settlements from the financial industry under the Fair Housing Act."
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