The Hill News

This post is a response to Rep. Lamar Smith's (R-Texas) recent press release criticizing the Department of Homeland Security's announcement to change a rule in visa waiver processing.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is chair of the House Judiciary Committee or the head of the “Just Say No To Any Immigration Solution” crowd. As if on cue, Smith criticized a processing tweakâ€"proposed earlier today by the Obama Administrationâ€"which will allow undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. while the Department of Homeland Security determines whether or not denial of their green card would cause extreme hardship to their U.S. citizen spouse or parent. Smith’s predicable knee jerk reaction included the same old tired claim that the administration is trying to pull an “end around” the immigration law. I expect Smith’s restrictionist friends will soon chime in with a hearty chorus of “backdoor amnesty.”