Tagged: Immigration

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

For more on today's announcement and the rest of the week in politics, we turn now to E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post. Hi there, E.J.

E.J. DIONNE: How are you? Good to be with you.

BLOCK: And syndicated columnist Linda Chavez. Hi there, Ms. Chavez.

LINDA CHAVEZ: Good to be with you.

In an interview with All Things Considered's Audie Cornish, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the administration's decision to defer the deportation of some young illegal immigrants is a part of a "strong enforcement" of immigration laws.

She said that this administration has stymied illegal border crossings and stepped up deportations of criminals.

"Strong enforcement also embodies looking at different categories differently when the facts justify that we do so," Napolitano said.

President Obama's announcement Friday that he is using his executive authority to defer deportation proceedings for young immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally but meet certain requirements was just the latest example of the president's use of his power to act without Congress on policy issues.