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The possibility is certainly out there. The common wisdom has been that the immigration issue is one that could help Rebublicans. But battered children pouring over the border is changing the game. What can Obama do? If he wants to circumvent a do-nothing Congress, he faces a potential trap.
While aggressive action will provide fodder for Republicans to drive their base into a frenzy with #ObummerTyranny talk, it could also bait Republicans into overreach that alienates swing voters and motivates the Dem base in a year when the midterm dropoff problem is putting control of the Senate in peril.
And that is one reason why, in the end, Obama must make this decision based on what he truly believes the legal constraints on unilateral action are, rather than letting it be dictated by a sense of the political constraints here. Some advocates believe the White House will allow an overly cautious sense of the political constraints to hamstring him beyond what the lawyers actually think is within his authority. Yet others believe that ultimately the decision will be driven by a genuine evaluation of what is legally possible. We’ll find out soon enough, but let’s hope it’s the latter. …WaPo
How is the left doing in your area? Here in Texas, Dems are motivated. They have two popular candidates running for governor and lieutenant governor. Texas knows more about the children — not just because they’re here but because so many Texans know about the situation in the countries they’re coming from. The dangers the children face if they stay home is something with which many Texan voters are familiar. Republicans don’t want Americans know that sending the children home is sending them back into a brutal — even lethal — social and political situation.
If Republicans want to look even worse, McCain and Graham are standing by, just waiting to muddy things up.
Here’s something to keep an eye on. Some Republicans are calling for doing away with the 2008 trafficking law that mandates legal protections for arriving minors, which is a cause of the crisis. John McCain is calling for repeal, arguing: “The message has to be, ‘If you cross our border illegally, you will be returned immediately.’”
Senator Lindsey Graham is also calling for a similar step. The Obama administration, too, has expressed support for changing the law so children from Guatemala and Honduras can be removed as quickly as Mexicans. So it will be interesting to see if Congress is actually up to the task of legislating constructively. ...WaPo