– White House: Order For Surge of Immigration ID’s For ‘Ongoing Operations’ (Breitbart, Oct 22, 2014):
Grilled by reporters, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest addressed an order for a “surge” of immigration IDs of up to 9 million in one year, but said the move is no confirmation President Obama will issue a major executive amnesty after the election.
“I think those who are trying to read into those specific orders about what the president may decide are a little too cleverly trying to divine what the president’s ultimate conclusion might be,” he said.As reported by Breitbart News, USCIS is soliciting the materials to required to print green cards and employment permits of the type used to implement Obama’s “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” program. The draft solicitation says that in addition to a minimum order necessary to print 4 million such IDs per year, vendors must have the capacity to produce materials for a “surge” of 9 million IDs in 2016.
“The Contractor shall demonstrate the capability to support potential ‘surge’ in PRC and EAD card demand for up to 9M cards during the initial period of performance to support possible future immigration reform initiative requirements,” the document says.
Earnest explained that he had a chance to read reports about the issue after declining to address it at yesterday’s press briefing, but dismissed questions about it as a a “relatively clever way” of trying to predict Obama’s decision.
“So you are suggesting that ordering these green cards shows that the government is at least preparing the president to announce this soon?” Fox News reporter Ed Henry asked during the White House Press briefing.
Earnest denied that the order was a indication of what Obama was planning to do.
“I think the report is that they ordered some paper,” Earnest said, insisting that the order was for “ongoing operations” at the Department of Homeland Security.
“Don’t be absurd with us!” replied White House CBS reporter Major Garrett. “That’s not just an ordinary piece of paper it’s central to what the president has promised in public to do … is that coincidental or is it unrelated?”
“You would have to ask the DHS about orders of green colored papers that they’ve ordered,” Earnest said.
“I mean this is crazy,” Earnest chuckled as Garrett continued to press him on the issue.
“Why isn’t it just obvious that that seems to be related?” asked Garrett.