Let’s step back from the debt ceiling debate for just a moment to take note of another proposal floated by Republicans today, called the HALT Act. As Marshall Fitz, Director of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress said, this measure is “almost too absurd to take seriously.”
The Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act (HALT Act) is a mean spirited, ideologically driven, and transparently-partisan effort by extreme Republicans to prevent the Obama administration – and only this administration – from using discretion when considering whether or not to deport an undocumented immigrant.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration held a hearing on this proposal today.
When it comes to immigration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the authority to grant temporary waivers, or discretionary relief, to undocumented immigrants whose removal would cause “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” to a family or spouse.
It’s a provision that has allowed for compassionate exceptions to an otherwise broken (and often austere) rule. The HALT Act would suspend DHS’ authority to grant those waivers.
This bill would be devastating to families. For example, if this bill becomes law, an “undocumented wife of a citizen soldier returning from the war in Afghanistan, would be barred from the United States for at least 10 years without any recourse whatsoever.”
The fate of comprehensive immigration reform in the immediate future is uncertain at best. In the meantime, DHS has assumed its legal authority to enforce the rule of law—and also to ensure that justice is pursued and real-world nuance is considered.
The HALT Act would reverse that in the interests of scoring political points against President Obama.
You can read Marshall Fitz’s article on the HALT Act for the full rundown.
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