In the News
- Obama: “We were strangers once, too”
- Some immigration critics
- Key parts of Obama’s immigration plan
- Four possible Republican responses
- Pols reax
- Iran nuke talks: Down to the wire
- Real hurdles may be in Tehran
- Some Iran hard-liners may want change
- Obama admin fudged health figures
- Ferguson: 6 people arrested overnight
- NSA chief warns of cyberattacks
- Takata grilled on Hill: Exploding airbags
Obama Sweeps on Immigration System
• President Obama chose confrontation over conciliation on Thursday as he asserted the powers of the Oval Office to reshape the nation’s immigration system and all but dared members of next year’s Republican-controlled Congress to reverse his actions on behalf of millions of immigrants (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, CNN, AP, TRNS, Fox, me)
• In a 15-minute address from the East Room of the WH that sought to appeal to a nation’s compassion, Obama told Americans that deporting millions is “not who we are” and cited Scripture, saying: “We shall not oppress a stranger for we know the heart of a stranger – we were strangers once, too.”
• “Amnesty is the immigration system we have today,” Obama said, “millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules, while politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes at election time.”
• Obama’s directive will shield up to five million people from deportation and allow many to work legally, although it offers no path to citizenship. He will refocus border control agents to the highest priority cases: “felons, not families.” (details below – “key parts of Obama’s plan”)
• Vid: President Obama speaks on Thursday night about fixing the immigration system
• “To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill,” Obama challenged
• In a series of rhetorical questions, he cast the immigration debate in emotional terms. “Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law?”
• Later he added: “Whether our forebears were strangers who crossed the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the Rio Grande, we are here only because this country welcomed them in.”
• Obama intends to underscore the schism between the parties on the issue of immigration during a campaign-style rally today at a high school in Las Vegas, where Hispanics are a powerful and growing voting bloc
• Conservative lawmakers accused the president of abusing his office. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called it a “brazen power grab” – a promised a fight when Republicans take full control of Congress next year. But Republicans are divided about how to express their anger without damaging their standing with Latinos
• Vid: Ahead of President Obama’s speech, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) releases a video, saying Obama is acting like a “king and an emperor”
• Obama’s actions will sharpen the focus of govt enforcement on criminals and foreigners who pose security threats. High-tech workers will have an easier time coming to the U.S. and security on the border will be increased
• The centerpiece is a new program for unauthorized immigrants who are the parents of U.S. citizens. About four million people will be eligible for a new legal status that would defer their deportations and allow them to work legally. They must pass background checks and pay taxes, but they will receive Social Security cards. “You can come out of the shadows,” Obama said
• An additional one million people will have some protection from deportation through other parts of the president’s plan. The actions will end a program called Secure Communities, which advocates had long criticized as a dragnet that swept up many unauthorized immigrants arrested on minor offenses
• Several Republicans on Thursday said they wanted to use a coming spending bill and the threat of a govt shutdown as leverage against Obama, while others reached for ways that Congress might withhold money or threaten other priorities
Some Critics
• “By ignoring the will of the American people, President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said in a statement after the speech
• It’s hard to know what Republicans can do to undo Obama’s actions. The agency that carried out most of the actions, Citizenship and Immigration Services, is funded with application fees, and doesn’t rely on a budget vote in Congress to keep operating
• A few Democrats expressed concern about Obama’s actions. Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV) said after a meeting with WH aides, “To put it through now is the wrong thing to do. I told them I wasn’t comfortable.”
• But immigration advocates hailed the announcement. “Five million people will get to feel this country’s embrace,” said Lorella Praeli,” director of advocacy for United We Dream, a youth immigrant organization. “But I’m sad there are people who will be left out. For them in particular, I recommit to fight until we see the day that they are protected from deportation.”
Key Parts of Obama’s Plan
• Gives reprieve from deportation and a chance for work permits to illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. at least five years and have children who are citizens or legal permanent residents (WSJ)
• Expands a program for young people brought to the U.S. as children by eliminating the age cap and moving forward the date of entry to the U.S. from 2007 to 2010
• Changes protocols for local law enforcement to notify federal authorities when an undocumented immigrant is arrested but not hold the person for any extra time
• Reorders priorities for deportation to focus on national security threats, serious criminals and recent border-crossers. / • Begins new effort to address backlog of cases in immigration courts
• Makes it easier for highly skilled workers awaiting green cards to change jobs while applications are pending. / • Creates new program for entrepreneurs who can show the have investors and will create jobs
Four Possible Republican Responses
• Legislation. Republicans might pass a bill defunding or restricting the agencies that handle immigration – which could include both the agencies administering any relief program and the ones dealing with immigration enforcement (Vox, me)
• Using govt funding as leverage. Congress needs to pass a temporary govt funding bill by 11 Dec. GOP leadership wants to pass a bill to fund the govt through Oct 2015. But conservatives led by Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) only want to fund through Feb, then use future funding as leverage to stop Obama’s “amnesty”
• Govt shutdown. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) promised after the election that Republicans wouldn’t be shutting down the govt – for any issue. But by 13 Nov, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was already saying that “all options are on the table” over immigration
• Impeachment. Rep Steve King (R-IA) – watermelon calves – a longtime supporter of maximizing deportations of unauthorized immigrants, says that he’ll call for impeachment hearings in the House if Obama made a big move. Obama made a big move
• Audio: Ramping up the crazy: Kansas SecState Kris Kobach (R) said in his talk radio show that Dems want to replace American voters with Hispanic “socialists,” also that ethnic cleansing was possible if Hispanics become a majority. Great stuff
Pols Reax
• “I think the president will come to regret the chapter history writes if he does move forward. Because the plan he’s presenting is more than just, as the president himself has acknowledged, an overreach – it’s also unfair.” – Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (AP, TRNS)
• “It is a first step. If we had it our way, President Obama would be signing a comprehensive immigration bill into law instead of an executive action, but can’t sit idly by waiting for Republicans to act while homes are being broken up all across this nation.” – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
• “Instead of working together to fix our broken immigration system, the president says he’s acting on his own. That’s just not how our democracy works. The president has said before that ‘he’s not king’ and he’s ‘not an emperor,’ but he’s sure acting like one.” – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
• “I was hopeful that the bipartisan bill passed the the Senate in 2013 would spur the House of Representatives to act, but they refused even to advance an alternative. Their abdication of responsibility paved the way for this executive action, which follows established precedent from presidents of both parties going back many decades.” Hillary Clinton
Iran Nuke Talks: Down to the Wire
• SecState John Kerry said that extending the deadline for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program isn’t being discussed. Negotiations in Vienna will instead focus on “driving towards” the outline of an agreement, he said. Kerry met Iranian FM Zavad Jarif for two hours in Vienna Thursday night. The deadline is Monday 24 November. Potential deal breakers:
• Uranium enrichment: Western states want to reduce Iran’s capacity in order to prevent it acquiring weapons-grade material but Tehran is set on expanding it nearly 20-fold in the coming years (Reuters, NYT, BBC, Hill, WSJ, TRNS, me)
• Sanctions reduction: Iran wants sanctions lifted immediately but Western states want to stagger their removal to ensure Tehran abides by its commitments. In the U.S., Sens Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) say they will “definitely” reintroduce sanctions legislation on Iran in the next Congress
• Russia’s position: It’s unclear what, if any, effect the recent Western sanctions on Russia over Ukraine might have on Moscow’s position at the talks as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, amid signs Russia and Iran want to expand economic ties
• Meanwhile, International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Yukiya Amano said Thursday that he was still unable to provide “credible assurance” Iran had no undeclared nuclear material and activities. As one of the conditions for a deal, Western states say Iran must stop stonewalling the IAEA investigation into concerns it conducted atomic bomb research
Real Hurdles May Be in Tehran
• NYT’s Thomas Erdbrink attended a meeting of Iran’s hard-liners in Tehran this week aimed at criticizing a potential deal. Under the Iranian system, the final decision on the deal rests with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. And it’s likely that the real debate over an agreement, should one be reached, will not begin to unfold until after it’s announced (NYT, me)
• When that debate gets underway, the voices of the hard-liners – the clerics, Republican Guard commanders and others who are by and large closest to Khameini – will be raised against compromise, making the case of continuing Iran’s harsh anti-Western ideology and strict control of its citizens. Most analysts believe they will hold sway with Khameini
• But there’s another developing line of thought in Iran. Some say that a nuclear deal is being planned by powerful figures in the Iranian leadership as the start of a fundamental shift in Iran’s ideology, aimed not only at normalizing relations with the world but also at rebranding the now 35-year-old Islamic revolution (more likely the latter – no real change in belief)
• “We will witness the leader coming out after a bad deal with a speech elaborating on why the U.S. cannot be trusted,” said Aliraza Mataji. “All except some wealthy people who are ready to sell out the country’s sovereignty will understand the deceiving nature of the Americans.”
• A failure to complete a deal and a breakdown in the talks, many at the meeting said, will almost surely turn President Hassan Rouhani, the main promoter of detente, into a lame duck president, ending any chance of his executing his agenda of more personal freedoms and better relations with the rest of the world (freedoms for some) – continues below
Some Hard-Liners May Want Change
• If a deal is reached, though, they say the opposite could happen, and those who have been marginalized over the years by the hard-liners – the reformists, centrists, moderates and groups that have long and unsuccessfully promoted change – will be the beneficiaries (some, anyway)
• “If there is a deal, and if it is good, the entire system will go along with it, said Amir Mohebbian, a political adviser long aligned with Iran’s hard-line faction, who’s close to several prominent Iranian leaders. “There will be a huge political shift after a deal.” He said with the rise of Sunni radicalism, Iran’s ideology needs an update
• Mohebbian’s views, which he says he has based on contacts with the highest circles of Iran’s establishment, are taboo, publicly, at least, among those holding power in Iran. But they’re attuned to many if not most middle-class Iranians, who increasingly feel alienated from the rigid ideology that’s remained frozen in time since 1979
• Such a scenario may seem far-fetched, in that consistently at critical moments over the past 15 years, Iran’s leaders have thrown in their lot with the hard-liners, suppressing protests and promoting laws like a recent one against dog ownership to maintain harsh Islamic discipline (but the elite still have dogs as pets)
• But Mohebbian insisted change was coming. All the stars have aligned, he said, the society is beyond ready, and regionally Iran is strong and the U.S. confirms that. “The fact that Obama writes letters directly to our leader Khameini highlights Iran’s importance and confidence. This is a golden moment for us.”
• Sick pic: A group of Walmart employees posted this photo to Facbook. It shows a food bin at a store in Oklahoma that was apparently put out as part of a food drive to help needy Walmart employees. How about paying people?
Obama Admin Fudged Health Figures
• Bloomberg reported Thursday that the admin had included as many as 400,000 dental-plan enrollees in its September enrollment total of 7.3 million. That had in turn pushed total enrollment past the 7-million projection originally offered by the Congressional Budget Office. The analysis was provided to Bloomberg House Oversight Committee
• The admin had supplied information about dental plans separately in earlier disclosures. In May, the govt reported that 8 million were signed up for health plans and 1.1 million were in dental coverage (Bloomberg, Vox, TPM, me)
• Then in September, the numbers became less transparent. Medicare agency’s administrator, Marilyn Tavenner, released a new enrollment figure: 7.3 million were “enrolled in the health insurance marketplace coverage” she said at a GOP-led House Oversight Committee hearing. Reporters asked a spox for more detail, but he said he had no additional info
• Thursday, a CMS spox said in an email: “A mistake was made in calculating the number of individuals with effectuated Marketplace enrollments. We have determined that individuals who had both Marketplace medical and dental coverage were erroneously counted in our recent announcements.” (naughty)
• Health and Human Services Sec Sylvia Mathews Burwell tweeted: “The mistake we made is unacceptable. I will be communicating that clearly throughout the dept.” Republicans don’t believe it was a mistake. They think it was deliberate to boost the numbers so the admin made its goal
• Vid: Michael Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., urges citizens to be peaceful ahead of a grand jury decision in the shooting death of his son
Ferguson: 6 People Arrested Overnight
• Police arrested about six people overnight after they tried to block a street in a protest calling for a grand jury to charge white officer Darren Wilson over the fatal shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in August (Reuters, WaPo, CNN, me)
• A few dozen demonstrators, some chanting “Indict that cop,” gathered outside the city police station late Wednesday in sub-freezing temperatures. They were faced by officers in riot gear and the arrests were the first in about a week, suggesting tensions were on the rise ahead of the trial ruling – expected any time
• Meanwhile, Wilson is unlikely to return to his job regardless of whether a grand jury decides to indict him, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Thursday. “I don’t see it happening,” Jackson said in a brief interview. He called it a “personnel matter.”
• Jackson’s comments mark a reversal from earlier this month, when he indicated Wilson, who is on paid leave, would be welcomed back to the force if he isn’t indicted. Wilson’s believed to be under police protection. A grand jury decision could come any day
• Vid: One scene that shows the greatness of director Mike Nichols – the seduction scene in The Graduate. Nichols died Wednesday at 83. He won Emmys, Tonys and an Oscar (for The Graduate). What a talent. What a loss. RIP
NSA Chief Warns of Cyberattacks
• NSA director Adm Mike Rogers said at a House Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday that he expects a major cyberattack against the U.S. in the next decade: “It’s only a matter of about the ‘when,’ not the ‘if,’ that we are going to see something dramatic.” Rogers is also the head of U.S. Cyber Command (Hill, TRNS, me)
• At the top of his list of threats are nation states, including China and “one or two others,” who U.S. officials maintain are infiltrating the networks of so-called industrial control systems, the electronic brains behind infrastructure like the electrical grid, nuclear power plants, air traffic control and subway system. “We are observing intrusions into our control systems,” he said
• Another growing threat Rogers cited is the increasing coordination between highly capable cybercriminal groups and foreign govts. U.S. intel officials have seen cybercriminal groups acting “as a surrogate for other groups, other nations,” he said, adding “I’m watching nation states attempt to obscure, if you will, their finger prints.”
• Meanwhile, Rogers described a nascent and so far inadequate U.S. response to these threats, compared with the minimal cost to other nations and groups in mounting cyber operations against the U.S. “You can just do literally almost anything you want, and there isn’t a price to pay for it,” Rogers said
• He said the U.S. needs to work more on how to deter cyberattacks, but he acknowledged that the U.S. govt hasn’t answered basic questions about operating in cyberspace. “We need to define what would be offensive, what would be an act of war. Being totally on the defensive is a very losing strategy to me,” he said
• Vid: absolute scream – Sir David Omand, ex-head of Britain’s GCHQ, (UK’s NSA) abruptly ends serious, live news interview with TV’s Channel 4 in which he’s defending highly controversial surveillance practices. Says: “Excuse me, I have to run for a train,” rips out his earpiece and stalks off into the night… (#veryBritishbehaviour)
Takata Grilled on Hill Over Exploding Airbags
• In tense exchanges on Thursday, a Senate committee questioned representatives for Takata, Honda and Chrysler about why the problem of exploding airbags, which has been linked to at least five deaths, took years to be dealt with and why it has yet to be solved. More than 14 vehicles from 11 automakers have been recalled (NYT, Hill, me)
• “Does Takata take full responsibility for this defect?” Sen Dean Heller (R-NV) asked Hiroshi Shimizu, a senior Takata exec, referring to the five deaths. After conferring with his interpreter and asking for clarification about which incidents Heller was referring to, Shimizu said the accidents were anomalies, “so in that sense, yes.”
• Earlier, Shimizu, the company’s senior VP for global quality assurance, said that the company was “deeply sorry” and “anguished about each of the reported instances in which a Takata airbag has not performed as designed, and a driver or passenger has suffered personal injuries or death.”
Takata: Hard To Answer Yes Or No
• In a sharp exchange with Sen Ed Markey (D-MA), Shimizu struggled to answer the question of whether Takata supported the safety agency’s recall. “It is hard for me to answer yes or no,” Shimizu said. “It is not hard for you to answer yes or no,” Markey said, cutting him off. In the end, when Shimizu still waffled, Markey said, “I’m going to take that as a no.”
• When Heller asked a Honda exec whether his 18-year-old daughter would be safe driving her 2007 year Honda Civic, exec Rick Schostek sat silent for a considerable period of time. He then said Honda had “several different analyses of what the problems are with these airbags” before eventually saying “there is a risk.”
• Stephanie Erdman, testifying about her experience with a faulty Takata airbag, said: “When the impact occurred, shrapnel from my car’s airbag inflator shot through the air bag cloth and embedded in my right eye and cheek. I was instantly blind on my right side. And then I felt gushing blood. It was terrifying. I thought I was going to bleed out.”
• Rocking into the weekend with “Illegal Alien” by Genesis – live in Montreal 1983
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Victoria Jones
TRNS’ Nicholas Salazar, Celina Gore and Leah Schwarting contributed to this report
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