Executive action is
unconstitutional and impermissibly disrupts separation of powers’
(The Hill) – Top Republicans in Congress on
Monday entered the court battle over President Obama’s latest moves
to ease deportations for immigrants living in the country illegally.
Texas and 25 other states have challenged the legality of
the unilateral actions, arguing that the president overstepped his executive
power with programs halting deportations and granting work permits to certain
groups of illegal immigrants.
The Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (Ky.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (Va.), are
siding squarely with the states, arguing Obama’s executive action “changes the
law and sets a new policy, exceeding the executive’s constitutional authority
and disrupting the delicate balance of powers.”
“Congress has created
a comprehensive immigration scheme — which expresses its desired policy as to classes
of immigrants — but the class identified by the [Homeland Security Department]
directive for categorical relief is unsupported by this scheme,” the
lawmakers wrote in an amicus brief filed with the 5th Circuit Court
of Appeals in New Orleans.
“Instead of setting enforcement priorities,” they added, “it
created a class-based program that establishes eligibility requirements that,
if met, grant unlawful immigrants a renewable lawful presence in the United
States and substantive benefits.”
The brief was endorsed by 113 Republicans, including Sens.
John Cornyn (Texas), the majority whip, and Ted Cruz (Texas), a 2016
presidential hopeful. In the House, the supporters include Reps. Trey Gowdy
(S.C.); Tom Price (Ga.); Michael McCaul (Texas), head of the Homeland Security
Committee; and Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the former head of the Judiciary panel.
“[T]he President has unlawfully granted amnesty to millions
who came here illegally,” Cruz said Monday in a statement.
The White House was quick to fire back, noting that hundreds
of voices — ranging from states to Democratic lawmakers to businesses groups —
have filed their own legal briefs supporting the executive actions.
“Though these individuals and groups come from different
backgrounds and perspectives, they’re all in agreement that [the] President’s
actions are good for public safety and good for the economy,” an administration
official said in an email.
The court fight centers on a pair of executive actions taken
by Obama shortly after November’s midterm elections.
One, known as the Deferred Action for Parental
Accountability (DAPA) program, would halt deportations and offer work permits
to the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents. The other would
expand Obama’s 2012 program, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
initiative, to a greater number of immigrants brought to the country illegally
as kids.
All told, the programs could defer deportation for more than
4 million illegal immigrants.
The states sued the administration over the programs,
arguing they mark a case of executive overreach that would saddle them with
exorbitant new costs.
In February, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, of
Brownsville, Texas, found that the states had a legitimate basis to bring their
case. He also blocked the programs temporarily for what he deemed a violation
of the federal law allowing public comment when new rules are established.
Hanen has yet to weigh the merits of the challenge, but his
initial decision prevents the administration from moving forward with the
programs, including the processing of applications.
Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats have hammered that
decision, saying the executive actions are well within the president’s powers
and will eventually be authorized by the courts.
The administration has appealed Hanen’s temporary
injunction, arguing the case before the 5th Circuit last month. The court has
yet to rule on the challenge.
The Republicans’ amicus brief argues that the injunction
should remain in place while the courts weigh the underlying case.
“President Obama’s decision to ignore the limits placed on
his power and act unilaterally to rewrite our nation’s immigration laws are an
affront to the Constitution,” Goodlatte said Monday in a statement.
“Such lawlessness must be stopped so that we preserve the
separation of powers in the Constitution and protect individual liberty.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/241668-113-republicans-back-lawsuit-against-obamas-immigration-actions
http://www.teaparty.org/113-members-congress-rip-obama-immigration-98487/?promocode=tpo-4703606&utm_source=newsemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tpo-4703606
No comments:
Post a Comment