NumbersUSA: DHS Secretary John Kelly ends illegal DAPA Amnesty for 5 million illegal aliens

DHS Sec. Kelly

Fri, Jun 16^th

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to end Barack Obama's illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesties. On Thursday night, the Administration moved one step closer to fulfilling that promise when DHS Secretary John Kelly rescinded the DAPA amnesty.

Obama's DAPA amnesty would have granted an estimated 5 million work permits to illegal aliens who are the parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

The Department of Homeland Security issued the following statement on Thursday night:

On June 15, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, after consulting with the Attorney General [Jeff Sessions], signed a memorandum rescinding the November 20, 2014 memorandum that created the program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents ("DAPA") because there is no credible path forward [in the courts] to litigate the currently enjoined policy.

The DAPA executive amnesty had been temporarily blocked by a federal court after 26 states, led by Texas, sued the Obama Administration over the order shortly after it was announced in November 2014. Federal District Judge Andrew Hanen issued a nationwide temporary injunction against the executive action in 2015 that was upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Obama Administration challenged the ruling to the Supreme Court, but the then-eight member court split evenly, leaving the injunction in place.

NumbersUSA issued the following statement:

NumbersUSA and its 8 million activists are thrilled that Secretary Kelly has rescinded the DAPA amnesty, partially fulfilling one of President Trump's key campaign promises. Although this unconstitutional executive amnesty had been temporarily blocked by the courts, it threatened to issue 5 million new work permits to illegal aliens who would mostly compete with low-skilled American workers who still face double-digit unemployment rates and declining wages. We hope President Trump now will keep his entire promise by ordering an end to the Obama Administration's other unconstitutional amnesty, the DACA program which continues to issue new work permits to those here illegally.

On August 31, 2016, Pres. Trump delivered a campaign speech listing his immigration priorities if elected. Number five on the list was to end both the DACA and DAPA amnesties.

We will immediately terminate President Obama's two illegal executive amnesties in which he defied federal law and the Constitution to give amnesty to approximately five million illegal immigrants, five million.

-- Pres. Trump, August 31, 2016

Last night's action fulfills part of that promise, but the Administration has yet to take end the DACA amnesty. New data from the Department of Homeland Security released earlier this month showed that the Trump Administration has issued thousands of new work permits to illegal aliens and renewed tens of thousands of more work permits under DACA since taking office in January.

We've posted a new action for the White House, thanking the Trump Administration for ending the DAPA amnesty and urging President Trump to end the DACA amnesty.

Message the White House or click https://www.numbersusa.com/take-action/thank-pres-trump-ending-dapa-and-extended-daca-amnesties

HOUSE PASSES VERIFY FIRST ACT

There was more good news this week when the House of Representatives passed Rep. Lou Barletta's (R-Pa.) Verify First Act that would strengthen the verification system under both the existing Affordable Care Act and the House-passed American Health Care Act.

Rep. Barletta's bill would require the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security to verify the citizenship or immigration status of every applicant for a health care tax credit before the Treasury Department can issue a credit.

The bill passed 238-to-134 mostly along party lines, but seven Democrats did break with their Party in support of the bill: Reps. Rep. Tom O'Halleran and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Peter DeFazio of Oregon, and Henry Cuellar of Texas.

We've posted a new action responding to how your U.S. Representative voted. You can take action by clicking here.

Chris Chmielenski

Slight Increase in Border Apprehensions in May, Still Lower Than FY16 Mon, Jun 12th The latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report shows that border apprehensions increased by 27% from last month but remains 64% lower than May 2016. The CBP concluded that this seasonal uptick matches historical trends and expects the number to increase through the summer months. IT Firm Posts 'H-1B Only' Job Ad Wed, Jun 14th Last week American Technology Consulting (ATC), an Iowa information technology staffing company, was caught posting a job ad that stated only H-1B visa holders should apply. The job was for a java developer and represents the growing trend of replacing American workers with cheap, foreign labor. Illegal Aliens Made Up 66% of Criminal Alien Convictions in Texas in 6 Years Thu, Jun 13th The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) reported that in the last six years around 220,000 criminal aliens have been booked in Texas jails. DHS confirmed to DPS that at least 148,000 or 66% of those criminal aliens had entered the U.S. illegally. DHS Secretary Kelly Ends DAPA Amnesty Fri, Jun 16th DHS Secretary John Kelly partially fulfilled one of President Trump's key campaign promises on Thursday night when he rescinded the DAPA amnesty. The illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesty issued by former President Barack Obama would have granted an estimated 5 million work permits to illegal aliens who were the parents of U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents. House Passes Verify First Act Wed, Jun 14th Rep. Lou Barletta's Verify First Act (H.R. 2581), which would ensure that illegal aliens cannot qualify for taxpayer-funded health insurance credits, passed the House yesterday with a 238 to 184 vote. NumbersUSA sent a statement to all Members of Congress prior to the vote notifying them that we would be scoring in favor of the bill. Copyright © 2017 NumbersUSA. 1400 Crystal Drive, Suite 240, Arlington, VA 22202. All Rights Reserved.