As Congress moves slowly on immigration reform, President Obama is making numerous policy changes in enforcement and other areas that are designed to shift priorities and boost confidence in the administration as it lays the groundwork for possible legislation.
Most of the changes are being driven by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and are primarily aimed at illegal immigrants with criminal records and employers who hire undocumented workers. Napolitano is working with lawmakers to develop a strategy for comprehensive legislative reforms.
In the meantime, she is "taking steps to ensure enforcement is conducted wisely and well," said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro.
The recent administrative changes include:
* New guidelines directing immigration agents to target employers who hire illegal immigrants rather than simply arresting undocumented employees.
* A requirement that all local police agencies deputized to check immigration status and turn criminals over for possible deportation sign new agreements pledging to focus on those who pose a risk to public safety.
* The implementation of a rule that requires federal contractors to use E-Verify, an online employment-verification program.
* The expansion of a program that uses government databases during the booking process to find illegal immigrants in the nation's jails.
Napolitano is expected to address immigration detention next. Administration officials said top experts are looking at all detention facilities, private and public, to see whether they are efficiently, safely and effectively operated. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the detention centers, has been heavily criticized for providing inadequate medical care and for violating detainees' due process.
"It's safe to say that we are going to look pretty seriously at the results and no doubt make some changes," said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the changes.
Immigrant-rights advocates praised Obama for fixing what he can now while he begins working on reform legislation. Obama has said repeatedly that he will push for a bill that would include a path to legalization for the nation's undocumented immigrants.
"It makes sense to do now what the administration can do," said Ana Avendano of the AFL-CIO. "It doesn't have to go through Congress. It doesn't have to go through the toxic political process."
