Testimonials from both sides of the party line were quite divided on the “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act” (HALT) in a U.S. House Judiciary committee hearing late July. The HALT bill was introduced to put a stop to the way President Obama can use his executive powers to decide which cases of illegal immigration the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should prioritize. A Republican representative from Texas, Lamar Smith, introduced the bill as a reaction to the way DHS chooses to target supposedly dangerous illegal immigrants first, and at the same time choosing to not prioritize deportation of other undocumented immigrants, particularly those who have been in the United States for a long time. In Smith’s words, President Obama chooses to enforce only certain laws. Another witness speaking for the HALT bill, says that Obama’s administration would prefer to welcome as many immigrants as possible to the U.S., and at the same time decrease immigration enforcement efforts and give amnesty to as many illegal immigrants as they can. One witness who spoke against the bill argued that HALT would be “costly, misguided and Irresponsible.” According to her testimony the HALT Act would hurt millions of American citizens and residents. Another opponent said that President Bush during his last two years as president granted 29,000 deferred actions, while the Obama administration has only averaged 28,000 deferred actions. Before the hearing, the Immigration Policy Center published a report that says HALT would end Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Humanitarian Parole and Deferred Action.