Awesome: Illegal Immigrants With Criminal Background Among Those Granted Amnesty Thanks to Obama's Executive Order

During a speech on Friday in the White House's Rose Garden that turned contentious towards the end, President Obama announced a new executive order that would allow children of illegal immigrants to avoid deportation.

The order is expected to apply to as many as 800,000 illegal immigrants whose families brought them here when they were still children. In addition to being a glaring example of election-year pandering on the part of the president, critics also pointed out that Obama's executive order clearly undercut the enumerated powers of Congress.

The executive order will apply to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. before they were 16 and are younger than 30. They also must have no major criminal offenses, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have graduated from a U.S. high school or have earned a GED, or served in the military.

Individuals who have been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, or three or more other misdemeanor offenses not occurring on the same date and not arising out of the same act, omission, or scheme of misconduct are not eligible to be considered for deferred action under the new process.

Those now eligible also can apply for a work permit that will be good for two years with no limits on how many times it can be renewed.

However, despite the statement the Administration disseminated on Friday, the language of the executive order still left the door open for illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds to avoid deportations [nor did it clarify whether those who received an Other-Than-Honorable or Dishonorable Discharge from the military- NANESB!].

The section at issue states in part that young illegal immigrants eligible for the program must have “not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the first administration official to announce the plan, said Friday morning the policy change was an attempt to keep the agency’s enforcement resources focused on removing the most potentially dangerous illegal immigrants, including felons and repeat offenders.

She also attempted to assure Americans by saying those eligible under the program must apply for a two-year suspension of deportation and a work visa, after which they can reapply for renewal. She also said each applicant would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Still, the attempt a reassuring the public that those eligible, included illegal immigrants as old as 30, did not satisfy Arizona GOP Rep. David Schweikert.

“I am extremely disappointed by this election year executive order for several reasons,” he said Saturday.

Schweikert called the order backdoor amnesty full of unintended consequences that puts hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants ahead of millions of unemployed Americans in the workforce.

He also said called applicants being eligible despite having a criminal record “the latest facet of the plan, that we are just discovering … seriously dangerous and inexcusable.”

The Department of Homeland Securtity’s 8-page memo on the major, election-year policy change attempts to clarify several anticipated questions on criminal history, including what qualifies as a “significant misdemeanor.”

The response states it part: “A federal, state, or local criminal offense punishable by no more than one year of imprisonment or even no imprisonment that involves: violence, threats, or assault, sexual abuse, larceny, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the unlawful possession or use of a firearm, drug distribution or trafficking, or unlawful possession of drugs.”

Among other concerns raised is that now millions of out-of-work Americans or legal immigrants will be competing for even scarcer employment with the 800,000 or so illegals who were granted backdoor amnesty thanks to Obama's fiat-by executive order.