President Obama’s immigration plan may signal a move away from punitive enforcement policies

On Thursday, President Obama introduced a plan to provide temporary relief to several million undocumented immigrants, prompting praise from immigrants’ rights advocates and sharp criticism from congressional Republicans. Rachel E. Rosenbloom argues that to get a true sense of the significance of the President’s plan, it is important to consider an aspect that has thus far received less attention: the elimination of the Department of Homeland Security’s “Secure Communities” Program. Taken together, the changes announced on Thursday may point to a rethinking of the policies that have led to the relentless growth of immigration enforcement in recent decades.