Kara Sears
Barack Obama signed 42 executive orders in 2016, ranging from classified national security information to granting deferred action to those who qualify. Obama's executive actions on immigration have been criticised by some as an abuse of power, with claims that he is acting illegally and violating the Constitution. However, others argue that Obama's actions fall within the Executive Branch's authority and are constitutional. Obama himself has emphasised that his executive actions are lawful and has used them to raise the wage for federal contract workers and delay executive actions on immigration.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of executive orders in 2016 | 42 |
| Nature of executive orders | To promote transparency, participation, and collaboration in the government |
| Examples of executive orders | Overhaul of government contracting policies, granting deferred action to those who qualify, raising the wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 |
| Legality of executive orders | Considered lawful by some, considered unlawful by some |
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What You'll Learn
Obama's executive orders on immigration
Executive actions are issued to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage operations within the federal government. While executive orders do not create laws, they direct agencies on how to enforce them.
In 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive actions on immigration. This included expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to include more immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. The program was expanded to people of any current age who entered the U.S. as children. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also created a new deferred action program for parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who had lived in the U.S. for five years or longer. To be eligible, they had to register, pass a background check, and pay taxes.
The Department of Labor (DOL) expanded and strengthened immigration options for victims of crimes (U visas) and trafficking (T visas) who cooperated in government investigations. The DHS also expanded immigration options for foreign entrepreneurs who met specific criteria for creating jobs, attracting investment, and generating revenue in the U.S. The criteria included income thresholds so that these individuals would not be eligible for certain public benefits.
Obama's executive actions on immigration aimed to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize the deportation of felons over families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes to stay in the U.S. temporarily without fear of deportation. These actions were consistent with the long history of executive actions on immigration, with every Democratic and Republican president since Dwight Eisenhower taking similar steps.
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Obama's first executive order
Executive orders are issued to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage the operations within the federal government. They are subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court and can be overturned if deemed unconstitutional.
Barack Obama signed 277 executive orders during his presidency, from 2009 to 2017. Obama's first executive order, signed on January 21, 2009, aimed to increase transparency and accountability in the government. It reversed a previous rule that allowed for the blocking of public access to presidential papers. Obama's order, Executive Order 13489, specifically rescinded a Bush-era executive order that severely limited public access to presidential records after a president left office. Obama's order aimed to shed light on presidential records, including his own, after eight years of secrecy under President George W. Bush.
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Obama's executive orders on wages
Executive actions are issued to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage operations within the federal government. They do not carry the weight of law but are considered official policy.
On February 12, 2014, President Obama signed Executive Order 13658, "Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors," to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for all workers on Federal construction and service contracts. The minimum wage was raised from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, effective January 1, 2015, with further annual increases based on inflation. The order affected hundreds of thousands of workers employed by private companies with government contracts.
The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order was another of Obama's executive orders related to worker rights and wages. This order required contractors to disclose violations of federal labor laws and executive orders addressing wage and hour, safety and health, collective bargaining, family and medical leave, and civil rights protections.
Obama's executive order on wages was part of a broader strategy by the Democratic Party to build electoral support in the 2014 congressional elections. The order was also intended to put pressure on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage for all workers.
Obama's executive actions on wages were controversial. Some argued that they were unlawful and violated the Constitution, while others saw them as an important tool to raise wages, protect savings, increase living standards, and protect working people.
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Obama's executive orders on deportation
Executive actions are issued to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage operations within the federal government. While executive orders do not have the power to create laws, they direct agencies on how to enforce them.
In 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive actions to reform immigration and address deportation. The Immigration Accountability Executive Actions aimed to secure the border, hold undocumented immigrants accountable, and ensure everyone follows the same rules. The actions focused on deporting felons, not families, and required undocumented immigrants to pass background checks and pay taxes to stay in the U.S. temporarily without fear of deportation.
Obama's executive order called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prioritize individuals for removal based on criminal, security, and fraud grounds. The order also referenced sections 235(b) and (c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which deal with the expedited removal of those not lawfully admitted.
Obama's actions built on the deportation priority memos issued during his first term, known as the "Morton memos." The 2014 priorities focused on national security threats, immigrants convicted of serious crimes, and recent border crossers. The Migration Policy Institute estimated that these priorities would have applied to about 13% of the 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the country, a decrease from the 27% prioritized under the Morton memos.
Obama's executive actions on deportation were controversial. Critics, including Senator Chuck Grassley, argued that Obama abused his executive power and violated the Constitution by acting unilaterally on immigration. They accused him of breaking the law and bypassing the legislative process.
In response, Obama defended his actions as lawful and necessary to fix a broken immigration system. He emphasized that his actions were within his legal authority and that previous presidents had also used executive actions on immigration.
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Obama's executive orders on transparency
Executive actions are issued to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage operations within the federal government. They are not the same as laws, which must pass through the legislature before being signed by the president.
On his first day in office, President Obama signed executive orders and memoranda to make the government more open and accountable to the American people. One of his first acts was to revoke the Bush administration's Executive Order 13233, which limited public access to presidential records. Obama's order restored the presumption that the incumbent president, not former presidents, their heirs or designees, should assert claims of executive privilege.
Obama also issued a Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, and a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The latter mandated a presumption of disclosure and directed all members of his administration to operate under principles of openness and transparency.
On November 3, 2010, Obama signed an Executive Order to improve government transparency by standardizing and limiting the use of control markings. This order also rescinded a 2008 Bush administration memorandum that created a framework for limiting the dissemination of government documents by labeling them as "controlled unclassified information" (CUI). The 2010 order mandated that documents could only be labelled CUI if required by law, regulation, or government-wide policy.
Obama also issued Executive Order 13526 to improve the system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information. This established the National Declassification Center within the National Archives to conduct efficient declassification reviews of historically important older records.
In total, Obama signed 42 executive orders in 2016.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Obama did create laws through executive actions. On his first day in office, he signed executive orders and memoranda to make the government more open and accountable to the American people.
Obama used executive actions to raise the wage for federal contract workers to $10.10. He also signed an executive order on Classified National Security Information to address the problem of over-classification and public access to formerly classified information.
Obama's executive actions were deemed legal and within his constitutional power by some, while others believed he acted illegally and abused his power.
