Blaming House Republicans and the Tea Party for the failure to enact the “immigration reform” he wants, on Monday President Obama said he will act by himself through executive orders to “reform” the nation’s immigration system. “America cannot wait forever for them to act. That’s why today I am beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress,” Obama said in the Rose Garden, with Vice President Joe Biden at his side.
Obama said he will direct Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to figure out what he can do unilaterally to “fix” the immigration system. In fact, the administration has been drawing up plans for another amnesty edict and even more relaxed enforcement /deportation standards for months. The administration had hoped that the threat of more amnesty edicts would intimidate House Republicans into passing an amnesty/immigration increase bill to his liking.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) quickly hit back at the president. “It is sad and disappointing that…President Obama won’t work with us, but is instead intent on going it alone with executive orders that can’t and won’t fix these problems,” he said.
Boehner noted that previous Obama executive orders had led to the present crisis on the border: “The president’s own executive orders have led directly to the humanitarian crisis along the southern border, giving false hope to children and their families that if they enter the country illegally they will be allowed to stay.”
Obama asserted that the reason he rules through executive orders is due to inaction by Congress: “I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue, and Congress chooses to do nothing.” In other words, if the lawmaking branch of government established by the Constitution refuses to pass the laws he wants, he will effectively re-write the laws to his liking.
Is this the day the Republic established by the Founding Fathers died?
Posted 7/1/14 by Andrew Lewis