Michael Volpe
The Daily Caller
5/11/2012
In stark contrast to prior Obama administration statements, Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez told The Daily Caller that he and the National Council of La Raza were deeply involved in the crafting and implementation of a controversial Obama administration memo that many conservatives believe amounts to a policy of amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
President Obama, Gutierrez said, told him in December 2010 that comprehensive immigration reform could not be achieved legislatively because of fears Democrats would lose future elections. Instead, he said, the president suggested exploring administrative options to accomplish their mutual goals. (RELATED: White House loosens border rules for 2012)
The memo, written by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton in June 2011, established priorities for tracking and removing suspected illegal aliens. It directed his agency to focus only on illegal immigrants who pose a threat to national security and endanger public safety.
ICE, Morton wrote, would provide no resources to tracking other illegal immigrants now and in the future — extending them a sort of administrative amnesty, and removing all threat of deportation, unless they committed a serious crime.
Since a controversy arose over the memo last summer, the administration and ICE have insisted it was written by career ICE professionals in response to logistic realities on the ground. But speaking at Lincoln United Methodist Church on May 6 in Chicago, Gutierrez told a group of his constituents that he personally drafted the memo’s precursor for the White House…
The article continues, with audio of Rep. Gutierrez, at The Daily Caller.
