President Barack Obama misspoke when he said that immigrants living illegally in the U.S. would have to "pay any back taxes" in order to qualify for work papers under the plan he initiated via executive action.
They would not.
Obama correctly noted that in order to register, qualified immigrants would - going forward - have to "pay taxes, contribute more fully to our economy."The confusion likely stems from a requirement in the 2013 Senate-passed immigration bill, which included a path to citizenship. In order to take the first step - provisional status - immigrants in the country illegally would have had to have, among other things, "satisfied any applicable Federal tax liability." In other words, they would have had to pay back taxes. For anyone who is directly affected by the president's action, it should be clear that currently, the executive action includes no such requirement.
Attorney general for hire?
A New York Times investigation has found attorneys general are now the object of aggressive pursuit by lobbyists and lawyers who use campaign contributions, personal appeals at lavish corporate-sponsored conferences and other means to push them to drop investigations, change policies, negotiate favorable settlements or pressure federal regulators.
In Utah, the attorney general dismissed a case pending against Bank of America over the objections of his staff after secretly meeting with a former attorney general working as a Bank of America lobbyist.
"An attorney general is entrusted with the power to decide which lawsuits to file and how to settle them, and they have great discretion in their work," said Anthony Johnstone, a former assistant attorney general in Montana. "It's vitally important that people can trust that those judgments are not subject to undue influence because of outside forces. And from what I have seen in recent years, I am concerned and troubled that those forces have intensified."
Mr. Tierney, the former Maine attorney general, said that lobbyists were entitled to set up a meeting with the attorneys general in their offices. But to write a check, for as much as $125,000, to gain days' worth of private time with the attorneys general is another matter, he said.
"When you start to connect the actual access to money, and the access involves law enforcement officials, you have clearly crossed a line," he said. "What is going on is shocking, terrible."
Devon Energy gives AG a hand
Devon Energy of Oklahoma since 2011 has secretly played a major role in drafting comment letters sent by attorney general Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma to Obama, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and then-E.P.A. administrator Lisa P. Jackson, among others - letters that ask for actions that could help increase or protect the company's profits.
"Outstanding!" said William F. Whitsitt, who formerly directed government relations at Devon, in a note to Mr. Pruitt's office. The Attorney General's staff had taken Devon's draft, copied it onto state government stationery with only a few word changes, and sent it to Washington with the attorney general's signature.
Devon Energy is a major financial supporter of the Republican Attorney General Association (RAGA) -which Mr. Pruitt took over in 2012 - donating $125,000 this year. Email exchanges between Devon and Mr. Pruitt, as well as representatives from the RAGA show how the company turned to Republican attorneys general and governors for help in trying to block a proposed Bureau of Land Management fracking regulation. Emails sent to the Colorado Attorney General's office included: Terri Connell, executive assistant to Attorney General Suthers; Dan Domenico, Solicitor General; and Casey Shpall, Deputy Attorney General for Natural resources.
Chip Tuthill is a longtime resident of Mancos. Websites used: www.factcheck.org www.nytimes.com
