# What's the big deal with deferred deportation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 17, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875 "2014-11-17T18:25:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/1 "2014-11-17T18:25:55Z")
Reagan and Bush [both](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/gop-presidents-acted-unilaterally-immigration-26971978) took executive action to prevent millions of illegal immigrants from being deported. It’s not like they’re going anywhere without such executive action. So what’s the big deal, beyond brainless nativism, racism, and “took er jerbs”? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/2 "2014-11-17T18:32:33Z")
Many people consider it “justice delayed.” ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/3 "2014-11-18T00:18:19Z")
Obama. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/4 "2014-11-18T00:32:59Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Reagan and Bush [both](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/gop-presidents-acted-unilaterally-immigration-26971978) took executive action to prevent millions of illegal immigrants from being deported. It’s not like they’re going anywhere without such executive action. So what’s the big deal, beyond brainless nativism, racism, and “took er jerbs”? From your article: “Reagan’s and Bush’s actions were conducted in the wake of a sweeping, bipartisan immigration overhaul and at a time when “amnesty” was not a dirty word. Their actions were less controversial because there was a consensus in Washington that the 1986 law needed a few fixes and Congress was poised to act on them. Obama is acting as the country — and Washington — are bitterly divided over a broken immigration system and what to do about 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally.” Hope that makes it clearer for you. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/5 "2014-11-18T00:57:18Z")
Many of the opponents view the Reagan and Bush actions as failures in hindsight, because all these years later we still have 11 million (or however many) people with irregular presence status. For all the talk about there having been consensus that “the law needed fixing”, even then there was a strong faction whose position was along the lines of _"ok, maybe we give a break to **these** guys, but how can we make sure we won’t let_\*\* any more\*\*\* get in?"\*. Notice that the article mentions that most of the efforts to go on and move the 1986 reform forward and take whatever next steps, by law, got stuck in one or another part of Congress – so much for consensus. It soon became a political football. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/6 "2014-11-18T12:22:50Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > From your article: > > “Reagan’s and Bush’s actions were conducted in the wake of a sweeping, bipartisan immigration overhaul and at a time when “amnesty” was not a dirty word. Their actions were less controversial because there was a consensus in Washington that the 1986 law needed a few fixes and Congress was poised to act on them. Obama is acting as the country — and Washington — are bitterly divided over a broken immigration system and what to do about 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally.” > > Hope that makes it clearer for you. Yes – Bush and Reagan took the actions when the Republicans were not crazy nuts about immigration. Now they’re crazy nuts about immigration (among other things), so if Obama does what Bush and Reagan did, they go insane. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/7 "2014-11-18T13:30:36Z")
Reagan and Bush did not have a Republican Party that was batshit crazy. Even more importantly, Reagan and Bush were white. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/8 "2014-11-18T16:39:33Z")
[Here](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/11/five-reasons-obama-shouldnt-declare-amnesty-immigration-executive-order/382845/) is a good article on why Obama’s supposed plan is stupid and wrong. > [@](#): > > Bush and Reagan took the actions when the Republicans were not crazy nuts about immigration. This is why “bipartisan” doesn’t mean anything coming from a liberal. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/9 "2014-11-18T16:57:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > [Here](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/11/five-reasons-obama-shouldnt-declare-amnesty-immigration-executive-order/382845/) is a good article on why Obama’s supposed plan is stupid and wrong. My response to the 5 reasons by Frum: 1. who cares 2. correlation does not equal causation, and even if it did in this case, this can be prevented with enforcement 3. not convinced by a study from an openly biased organization (CIS) [with ties](http://www.splcenter.org/publications/the-nativist-lobby-three-faces-of-intolerance/cis-the-independent-think-tank) to white supremacists and Holocaust deniers 4. this argument might sway fellow conservatives, but it does nothing for me 5. everything Obama can or would possibly do would “convulse national politics” – I don’t buy that _not_ doing this would change the goals and actions of Republicans in Congress at all with regards to Obama… further, impeachment would be a boon for Obama > [@](#): > > This is why “bipartisan” doesn’t mean anything coming from a liberal. Sweeping, definitive statements like this don’t mean anything coming from anyone. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/10 "2014-11-18T17:12:09Z")
I am a Dem and this does not look like a good idea to me. In _The Audacity of Hope_, then Senator Obama wrote: > [@](#): > > “The number of immigrants added to the labor force every year is of a magnitude not seen in this country for over a century. If this huge influx of mostly low-skill workers provides some benefits to the economy as a whole – especially by keeping our workforce young, in contrast to an increasingly geriatric Europe and Japan – it also threatens to depress further the wages of blue-collar Americans and put strains on an already overburdened safety net.” I would like to see data showing this is a good idea for law abiding citizens like me. Not a good idea for citizens of foreign countries who might like to come here or for those who who are here in violation of present laws. But good for the average American. I read the comments on immigration articles at the very liberal New York Times. I find it interesting that even at our most liberal paper, most of the comments are usually ten to one against any kind of amnesty of any kind. The latest comments on his actions have been quite against it, even by staunch Dems. I am not opposed to immigration. My next door neighbor is an immigrant. She came here legally with skills and English fluency. She’s a great neighbor and a contributing member of our society. I’m glad she’s here. My daughter’s babysitter is a sweet young immigrant from Haiti. She’s currently attending a local college and working part-time. Again, I am glad she’s here. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/11 "2014-11-18T17:42:05Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Obama. Pretty much, The Republican strategy has been to improve their electoral chances by pointing to the failures of the Obama administration. Therefor they must make sure that Obama is incapable of succeeding in any endeavor. Even if it a good idea that they would normally support and improves the country, there is the danger that Obama would get credit for it, so they must oppose it. This strategy is not crazy\*, it actually worked quite well for them in the midterms, it’s just destructive. - although it may appear to be given that it requires them to oppose some rather common sense ideas. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/12 "2014-11-18T18:34:40Z")
Bush the Younger had a very fascinating chapter in his book devoted to his efforts at immigration reform and their ultimate failure. He seemed to think of that as the greatest failure of his Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/13 "2014-11-18T18:49:46Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Yes – Bush and Reagan took the actions when the Republicans **were not crazy nuts about immigration.** “Crazy nuts” defined as what - “not giving the current Democratic presidential administration what they want?” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/14 "2014-11-18T18:58:01Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > “Crazy nuts” defined as what - “not giving the current Democratic presidential administration what they want?” Crazy nuts means “going batshit crazy when a black president proposes a policy that differs little from what former Republican presidents have done.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/15 "2014-11-18T19:14:24Z")
What dreadful actions are we talking about, here? Allowing people to stay in the same country as their children. People who have, apparently, not run foul of the law in their time here, otherwise, they would not be here. They worked, paid taxes, caused no harm, and want simply to be allowed to live where their children live. What, perzackly, is the Big Hairy Ass Deal, here? The absence of “family values”? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/16 "2014-11-18T19:18:31Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > “Crazy nuts” defined as what - “not giving the current Democratic presidential administration what they want?” Defined as the loony things spouted by the likes of Steve King, Louie Gohmert and company. Immigrants will spread ebola and other diseases, immigrants are mostly dangerous criminals with “calves like cantaloupes”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/17 "2014-11-18T20:41:11Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > My response to the 5 reasons by Frum: Who cares what your response is to the 5 reasons by Frum? Your OP was an attempt to demonize opponents by pretending that the only possible objections were “_brainless nativism, racism, and “took er jerbs”_”, and now you have other possible objections. Whether or not you agree with those objections, you have your answer. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/18 "2014-11-18T23:38:24Z")
To me, it’s not a big deal IF they are only receiving amnesty for being here illegally. Any crimes they committed in the course of being here they should remain accountable for, and if the President decides to not prosecute people for things like identity theft, that’s a big problem. What Republicans should do, instead of freaking out, is highlight the cases of illegals actually committing crimes and remaining in the country. Democrats should be called on their rhetoric that all they want to do is normalize “hard working, 'aw abiding” immigrants. Unless the President gets serious about prosecuting and deporting immigrants who have committed felonies, then the American people need to be made aware that this is going on. The stated rationale for doing this is to prioritize getting rid of the bad apples. So it better be done. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/19 "2014-11-18T23:48:50Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Unless the President gets serious about prosecuting and deporting immigrants who have committed felonies, then the American people need to be made aware that this is going on. > > . Do you have any evidence that he is not? The stats I’ve seen indicate that Obama deports more than his predecessors. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875/20 "2014-11-19T00:01:12Z")
The stats include border apprehensions now to juice the numbers. > **[High deportation figures are misleading](https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-deportations-20140402-story.html#axzz2xjSqL8O0&page=1)** > > Immigrants living illegally beyond the border area are less likely to be deported under 'deporter in chief' President Obama, contrary to widespread belief. > [@](#): > > But the portrait of a steadily increasing number of deportations rests on statistics that conceal almost as much as they disclose. A closer examination shows that immigrants living illegally in most of the continental U.S. are less likely to be deported today than before Obama came to office, according to immigration data. > > Expulsions of people who are settled and working in the United States have fallen steadily since his first year in office, and are down more than 40% since 2009. > On the other side of the ledger, the number of people deported at or near the border has gone up — primarily as a result of changing who gets counted in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s deportation statistics. And now Fox is reporting an ICE whistleblower saying that the administration is using its prosecutorial discretion to let identity thieves off the hook: as long as they aren’t citizens. [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/13/ice-meltdown-agency-lawyer-sues-over-purge-harassment/](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/13/ice-meltdown-agency-lawyer-sues-over-purge-harassment/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-deferred-deportation/704875.md?page=2)