WASHINGTON — In all its fury and unanimity, the response from the right to
President Obama’s decision to change immigration policy without the consent of Congress was the manifestation of a major transformation within the
Tea Party.
What started five years ago as a groundswell of conservatives committed to curtailing the reach of the federal government, cutting the deficit and countering the Wall Street wing of the
Republican Party has become a movement largely against immigration overhaul. The politicians, intellectual leaders and activists who consider themselves part of the Tea Party have redirected their energy from advocating fiscal austerity and small government to stopping any changes that would legitimize people who are here illegally, through granting them either citizenship or legal status.
“Amnesty for Millions, Tyranny for All,” declared
the Tea Party Tribune website, summing up the indignation among conservatives over
Mr. Obama’s executive action to shield up to five million people from deportation.