Tagged: Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-In., says President Obama is overstepping his authority by halting the deportation of young immigrants.

On Friday, the president ordered his administration to stop expulsion of immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, which bypasses Congress and implements parts of the DREAM Act. The policy change takes effect immediately and gives younger immigrants immunity and the ability to apply for work permits as long as they have no criminal history and meet other criteria.

Coats says the decision grants amnesty to illegal immigrants and was made to benefit the president's re-election campaign.

From Sen. Coats' office:

"The Obama administration’s announcement today is an obvious political move five months before Americans decide if the president deserves a second term. This new immigration policy effectively grants amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants. The administration is overstepping its authority and bypassing Congress to implement the goals of the proposed DREAM Act. Unfortunately, this move – ignoring the Constitution and legislating through federal bureaucrats – has become standard operation under this president.

The director of Kentucky’s Office of Homeland Security says the amount of money he has available for grants to local governments is a fraction of what it was eight years ago. Gene Kiser says his office had $27 million for grants in 2004. That compares with only $2.2 million for the coming fiscal year.

Kiser says the depleted resource pool comes at a time when many public safety forces in Kentucky are trying to comply with a federal mandate.