First the environment, next immigration. The President will be exercising power of the pen on major social issues now that the election season is over.
A newly leaked document from a federal agency details the President’s ten-point plan on immigration reform through executive action. In the kitchen sink is everything from suspending deportations of migrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children and their parents to boosting pay for enforcement officers. The deferral of deportations may be the biggest move as it could potentially allow over 4.5 million adults to stay in the U.S.
According to sources, this draft proposal could be announced as early as November 21, although the White House has yet to give it final approval.
Forget Black Friday or post-Thanksgiving dinner shopping, this will be Christmas-come-early for immigration advocates – all at taxpayers’ expense and without debate in Congress.
Whatever one’s position on the substance of the plan and immigration reform, it’s once again another major expansion of government power and action without the approval of Congress. The President is not the legislative body, but between now and the end of his tenure in office, he plans to act like he is.
Fox News reports:
The president's plans were contained in a draft proposal from a U.S. government agency. The source said the plan could be announced as early as Nov. 21, though the date might slip a few days pending final White House approval.
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The plan contains 10 initiatives than span everything from boosting border security to improving pay for immigration officers.
But the most controversial pertain to the millions who could get a deportation reprieve under what is known as "deferred action."
The plan calls for expanding deferred action for illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children — but also for the parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
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The planning comes as immigrant advocates urge Obama to act. As lawmakers returned for a lame-duck session, Democrats in Congress on Wednesday implored Obama to take executive action.
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Obama has vowed to act in the absence of congressional action and has claimed that congressional action could still supersede his executive steps. That claim was restated by Earnest, who said Thursday that if the House approved an immigration reform bill previously passed by the Senate, Obama would "retract" any executive order.
In a recent op-ed in Politico, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Congress would stop Obama from taking executive action by adding language explicitly barring money from being used for that purpose.
Like a school project that the student is avoiding until the last minute, President Obama has deferred action on immigration reform for fear of the hot water it would put him and his congressional colleagues in. With nothing to lose, he'll pull the pin and let the bomb fall where it may.
As we’ve discussed before, the President’s unilateral approach to immigration reform is beyond a joke, it’s terrifying. That he is willing to bypass the constitutionally prescribed powers of Congress to advance his agenda are actions befitting of a dictator. As one of the freest nations in the world, our respect for the rule of law is paramount and upon which our government and economic systems rest.
However, when the person occupying the highest office in our land is willing to flout it for his personal ambitions we should be concerned. While it's too late to keep him from a second term, it's not too late to rally Congress to resume its rightful place in making the laws for our nation.