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Politico.com:

A dozen Republican senators are again urging the Obama administration to abandon any possible plan to use executive powers to allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the country, even as Homeland Security officials deny any such proposal exists.

“The American people don’t want the federal government to abuse its power by granting back-door amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in a statement on Wednesday. “There are a lot of unanswered questions that we expect answers to from the secretary of Homeland Security.”

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week, the senators wrote they were concerned about “a large-scale effort to offer parole or to defer action on undocumented aliens in the United States,” authority that should be used with discretion on a case-by-case basis.

They also want Napolitano to document how many times her department has used that authority.

“By shedding a little light on the numbers, we’re working to get to the bottom of the administration’s plans,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “If it wants to claim that discretionary authority is being used on a case-by-case basis, then let’s determine if these cases are truly meritorious.”

The Homeland Security Department has maintained it has the authority to grant extensions to those who are in the country illegally “based on the merits of cases,” but again emphasized that there are no plans to grant blanket amnesty to the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

“This discretionary authority is implemented on a case-by-case basis, and DHS does not grant deferred action without a review of relevant facts. To be clear, DHS will not grant deferred action to the nation’s entire illegal immigrant population,” DHS spokesman Matthew Chandler said in a statement. “Comprehensive legislation, coupled with a safe and secure border, provides the best solution to our nation's immigration challenges.”

The senators said a similar letter they sent to President Barack Obama in June “was greeted with silence.”

“So we are asking Secretary Napolitano to provide us with the necessary numbers or data to prove to the American people that the administration is not abusing this discretionary authority, which is supposed to be used only in dire cases or for humanitarian reasons,” they wrote.

In addition to Hatch and Grassley, the other Senate signers were Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, David Vitter of Louisiana, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, Pat Roberts of Kansas and Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

Text of the letter.

July 26, 2010

The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
Nebraska Avenue Complex
245 Murray Lane, Mailstop 0150
Washington, DC 20528-0150

Dear Secretary Napolitano:

We remained concerned about potential plans for a large-scale effort to offer parole or to defer action on undocumented aliens in the United States. We realize that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances. However, we do not believe that such actions should be used for a large population of illegal aliens or used to bypass Congress and the legislative process.

News articles report that your department has denied the charge, stating that grants of parole or deferred removal are based on the merits of individual cases. While we have not personally been assured that plans have not been drawn up, we are interested in data that will guarantee the American people that the Administration is not using these discretionary actions in cases that are not urgent or based on humanitarian reasons.

Therefore, we seek the following information about how the department is using its authorities. Specifically, we would like answers to the following questions no later than August 16:


• How many removal actions have been deferred each year over the past 5 years, including calendar year 2010, to date?

• How many times has parole been granted each year over the past 5 years, including calendar year 2010, to date?

• Of those granted deferred action or parole in the past five years, including 2010, how many have been provided work authorizations? In what circumstances are work authorizations not granted?

• What guidelines and procedures are in place when the department considers using its discretionary power to defer action or grant parole? Please describe the process from the initial request to the final approval, and please provide a copy of the written policies that employees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Customs and Border Protection must follow.

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I would think the Administration should get used to getting questions since Novemeber is just around the corner.
I have to stop using Chrome.