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Chomsky: Obama should issue a general pardon to undocumented immigrants
- billy8988 10y agoIf Obama did, I think it will help Trump with his base. Trump can cop out saying he cannot deport 12 million people now ignoring the fact that it is impossible to do.
- theonemind 10y agoCan the President do this? The article mentions that pardon power extends beyond criminal offense. However, it doesn't seem clear to me that pardon power covers allowing undocumented immigrants to stay. If, say, I stole $3 million dollars from the US and got pardoned for the crime, they might still want the $3 million back. I suppose I don't understand the pardon power very well. Could the US illegally deport a citizen, pardon everyone involved, deny the citizen entry, and pardon everyone who conspires to keep the citizen out of the country every time they try to enter? It seems somehow like this, like this use of the pardon power circumvents something more fundamental. I think the article raises this point somewhere around: "As we have repeatedly said for years, only Congress can create legal status for undocumented individuals," a White House official told BuzzFeed.
- atomi 10y agoDoubtful. Unlawful presence is a civil offense and there are no actual criminal proceedings for deportation. In fact you could be accused of unlawful presence without sixth amendment protections.
- detaro 10y agoDon't pardons also only work for past offenses? Presumably the people for which it is relevant would still be in violation afterwards, which would not be protected by the pardon?
- thescribe 10y agoChomsky says that President Obama should, but is very light on why he should.
- bratsche 10y agoObama was asked about pardoning Edward Snowden (not that long ago I think) and my recollection of his response was that he said he didn't have the power to pardon someone who hadn't yet been convicted of a crime.