Despite evidence that the current border crisis is at least partly the result of its previous executive action on immigration, the White House decided it was merely a “public relations problem” and moved forward with plans to issue further executive actions along similar lines.
The New York Times has a piece out today which contains some new insight into the White House’s thinking about the border crisis and how it relates to the President’s stated goal of taking action on immigration without Congress.
The Times article states, “In the days leading up to the Rose Garden speech, there were discussions
in the West Wing about the impact that the border crisis might have on
the president’s promise to use his executive authority.” Ultimately, the President’s advisers decided that the border crisis represented a “considerable public relations problem” but that it should not stop the President from proposing further executive action.
Details of the coming executive actions are still under wraps but the Times reports the move will be, “consistent with the administration’s efforts to move away from
deporting unauthorized immigrants who have been in the country for years.” The previous effort was the President’s declaration of deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) which he announced in June 2012.
Evidently the White House is aware that confusion over DACA plays a role in the current crisis since Vice President Biden connected the two during a speech in Guatemala last month. Confirming the significance of this “misconception,” an intelligence document first reported by Fox News yesterday indicates that the vast majority of new arrivals at the border are under the impression children have a “permiso” to remain in the country.
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