If the Republicans’ quest to kill President Barack Obama’s Executive Orders on immigration works, the question arises of what happens to the over 700,000 illegal immigrants who already applied for Obama’s programs and expect to be protected from deportation.
The Senate voted twice this past week on a bill that would defund the Executive Orders. Orders that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the country and grant them work permits. The Senate Republicans lack the necessary 60 votes to overcome Democrats’ filibuster to pass the bill. But the GOP can block funding for the whole Department of Homeland Security (DHS). That would partially defund the president’s orders as well.
If the DHS runs out of money on Feb. 27, what happens with the people who already applied for Obama’s 2012 program or are about to apply for his new program announced last November? And speaking more broadly, what will happen to applicants if the powers that be in government swing against them?
Put bluntly, could the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) use the address submitted on an application to come knock on their door and put them on a plane home?
The short answer is yes.
