What Legal Authority Does President Obama Have To Stop The Deportation Of DREAMERs?

Click here to read about the President’s legal authority

Last year, in an article published in Bloomberg Law, I wrote about the President’s authority to stop unjust deportation.

Prosecutorial discretion is the authority of an agency charged with enforcing a law to decide whether to enforce, or not to enforce, the law against someone. The exercise of discretion is central to American law enforcement and upholding the rule of law. All law enforcement agencies, including those that enforce immigration laws, have the authority to decide who within their jurisdictions to investigate, arrest, detain charge, and prosecute.

When it comes to immigration law, the exercise of prosecutorial discretion not only conserves limited enforcement resources, but also protects core American values of humanitarianism and fairness.