Attorney General nominee, Loretta Lynch, was questioned on her stance on the president's executive amnesty during her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday. While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lynch said that she believes that the president's executive actions to grant amnesty and work permits to illegal aliens were legal and that the right to work is shared by everyone "regardless of status".
During the Senate Republican Leadership's press conference on Tuesday, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) posed the question to Senate Democrats "Does the law matter or not?" while discussing the Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would block funding for President Obama's executive amnesties. Sen. Blunt serves as Vice-Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and is part of the GOP leadership team.
A new Paragon Insights poll of 1,593 registered voters found that Americans oppose Pres. Obama's executive actions on immigration when the entire policy, including the issuance of work permits, is explained. The poll found that Americans oppose Pres. Obama's actions by a 58-to-36 margin when told that the policy allows illegal aliens to "avoid deportation and seek jobs in the United States".
In her story, "CRS Report of the Week: The President's Immigration Accountability Executive Action," Colby Itkowitz of In The Loop writes:
Kenneth Palinkas, President of the National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council, released a statement yesterday condemning President Obama's executive amnesty, the lack of action in the Senate to reverse the executive actions, and the upcoming border security bill. Palinkas stated the "grave peril" that President Obama's "skewed priorities" in granting executive amnesty to millions of illegal aliens puts the 12,000 adjudicators and personnel he represents at USCIS in.
Breitbart News -- Matthew Boyle
Freshman Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is coming under fire for her failure to address what many consider to be one of the biggest constitutional overreaches by a president in U.S. history in her prime time response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Washington Examiner -- Susan Ferrechio
With the Senate poised to take up a spending bill that defunds President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, a conservative faction of House lawmakers want their counterparts in the Senate to step up their game.
National Journal -- Sophie Quinton
Even if a court decision stops the federal government from moving forward on President Obama's latest executive action on immigration, the city of Los Angeles will keep doing everything it can to help undocumented residents gain legal status.
"We're going to move forward. We can't afford not to," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Tuesday at a National Journal event in Washington, D.C. underwritten by the Emerson Collective.
Politico -- Ben Schreckinger and Seung Min Kim
Republicans sent mixed signals on immigration in their two official rebuttals to President Obama Tuesday night: Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s rebuttal made no mention of the topic, but the Spanish-language version of the rebuttal, delivered by Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo, said Republicans wanted to work with Obama to fix the immigration system.
Politico -- Manu Raju
Top Republicans are exploring ways of escaping their political jam on immigration, with steps that could avoid a funding cutoff for the Department of Homeland Security while letting conservatives vent their anger at President Barack Obama.
The Country Daily -- Jim Massey
Dairy farmers who employ immigrant workers should “sit tight” and do things the way they have done in the past, despite President Barack Obama’s recent executive action related to immigration, an immigration attorney said here Jan. 14.
The New York Times' headline says "House Votes to Revoke Legal Protections for Millions of Immigrants." There is no down-the-middle interpretation to be found here. The headline tells the reader what they are supposed to feel before they read the story.
Frank Roche, who was last year's GOP primary opponent to Rep. Renee Elmers, has published a blog on his website calling out Ellmers for her opposition to amendments to the DHS spending bill that would have defunded most of Pres. Obama's 2012 and 2014 executive amnesties. In his blog, Roche writes that he knew Ellmers would support amnesty for illegal aliens even though she campaigned otherwise.
Newsmax -- Cathy Burke
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio's lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's sweeping orders that protect millions of illegal aliens — dismissed by a federal judge last month — is back on the front burner, with an appeals court Wednesday ordering an accelerated hearing in the constitutional case.
Associated Press -- Amy Taxin
The Mexican government on Thursday will start issuing birth certificates to its citizens at consulates in the United States, seeking to make it easier for them to apply for U.S. work permits, driver's licenses and protection from deportation.
Until now, Mexico has required citizens to get birth certificates at government offices in Mexico. Many of those living in the U.S. ask friends and relatives back home to retrieve them, which can delay their applications for immigration or other programs.
The Hill -- Mike Lillis
Undaunted by GOP efforts to undo President Obama's executive order to halt deportations, House Democrats have launched a national campaign to get the millions of eligible illegal immigrants signed up.
Spearheaded by Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), the multi-city effort will unite lawmakers, faith-based institutions and other community leaders working to help participants through the application process and over other bureaucratic hurdles.
Associated Press -- Erica Werner
In an assault on one of President Barack Obama's top domestic priorities, House Republicans approved measures Wednesday that would overturn his immigration actions and remove protections for immigrants brought illegally to the country as children.
Despite a White House veto threat, Republicans attached language blocking Obama's immigration initiatives to legislation providing nearly $40 billion to finance the Homeland Security Department through the rest of the budget year.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) spoke from the House Floor on President Obama's unconstitutional executive amnesties.
"What we are dealing with here is a president who has ignored the people, ignored the Constitution, and even his own past statements," he said.
"In fact, on at least 22 occasions he has said he does not have the authority to do what he did."
Speaker Boehner then read them.
The House has approved two amendments to the Department of Homeland Security spending bill that would defund Pres. Obama's executive amnesties. The Aderholt amendment, which would block funding for Obama's November 2014 executive actions and most of the 2012 Morton Memos, passed by a 237-to-190 margin. The Blackburn amendment, which would block funding for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, passed by a 218-to-209 margin.
Politico -- Seung Min Kim
House Republicans are set Wednesday to mount a furious assault on four years of President Barack Obama’s immigration policies – satisfying hardliners on the issue but prompting resistance among some moderates concerned that the party’s leadership has gone too far.
Congressman Bob Goodlatte -- Augusta Free Press
Breitbart News -- Caroline May
An immigration officer working in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division says “a significant portion” of officers’ times is now spent helping people determine eligibility for executive amnesty and reviewing cases rather than enforcing the law.
Washington Times -- Stephen Dinan
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday that moves to block President Obama’s new deportation amnesty are less about immigration than they are about asserting Congress’s right to make laws, and pushing back on a runaway executive branch.
The House is scheduled to begin debating the homeland security spending bill later Tuesday, but the focus will be on a series of amendments the GOP has lined up that would cancel Mr. Obama’s amnesty.
Los Angeles Times -- Lisa Mascaro
"Republicans in all these districts hate amnesty and they don't like the president — it just puts all the hot buttons together," said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, an organization that favors limits on immigration. The group has been flooding lawmakers' offices with calls from its 2-million-strong membership, urging Congress to stop the president's program.
Politico -- Seung Min Kim
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is trying to win the messaging war on immigration.
The conservative Republican and chief critic of President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration is sending around a detailed and lengthy memo that encourages fellow GOP lawmakers to block the unilateral moves, even arguing that Congress’ response to what he calls “this emergency” will “define its legacy.”
Washington Post -- Greg Sargent
Indeed, some anti-”amnesty” advocates forthrightly advocate for this position. They say the threat of deportation dangling over low-level offenders is a good thing, because it discourages illegal immigration and encourages them to get out. As Roy Beck of Numbers USA candidly put it: “Without the threat of deportation, no one will feel they have to leave.”
CNS News -- Ali Meyer
House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) vowed today to fight “tooth and nail” against President Obama’s unilateral amnesty of up to five million illegal aliens—an amnesty the administration has been able to move forward with because Boehner’s House permitted funding of it.
The states involved in the lawsuit against President Obama regarding his executive action to grant amnesty and work permits to millions of illegal aliens argued in court that the action will impose "billions of dollars in costs", including more than $130 for each Texas driver's license issued.
The House of Representatives will vote on two amendments to the Department of Homeland Security spending bill in the coming days that will defund Pres. Obama's executive amnesties. One amendment, offered by Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala), Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), and Lou Barletta (R-Penn.) will mostly defund the President's amnesties announced in November, while the second, offered by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) will defund the the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program announced by the President in 2012.
ABC Digital
(BROWNSVILLE, Texas) -- A federal judge near the Texas/Mexico border begins hearing arguments Friday in a lawsuit filed against the Obama administration by nearly two dozen states.
After failing to come up with a plan that Congress would approve, President Obama took executive action to allow more than four million undocumented immigrants to stay in the country on three-year work permits.
Politico -- Seung Min Kim and Jake Sherman
House Republicans will push a plan to unravel President Barack Obama’s executive action for undocumented immigrants and toughen enforcement of immigration laws that would be tied to funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Rep. Robert Aderholt introduced a bill this week to prevent the Obama Administration from granting work permits to people in the country illegally. Greg Sargent thinks House Republicans may not attach defunding language to DHS and writes "If Republicans cave on this, it would be a very big deal."
Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
These Senators, including Senator McCain had an opportunity to back up their rhetoric with action when Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) raised a "point of order" challenging the constitutionality of the president's executive action while the Senate debated the 2015 spending bill.
Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
These Senators, including Senator Kirk had an opportunity to back up their rhetoric with action when Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) raised a "point of order" challenging the constitutionality of the president's executive action while the Senate debated the 2015 spending bill.
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) has introduced H.R.191, the Repeal Executive Amnesty Act of 2015, that addresses most of the executive actions taken by the Obama Administration over the last several years. The bill goes beyond simply defunding the President's actions to grant amnesty and work permits to millions of illegal aliens, but also reverses a number of executive actions taken by the Administration over the last several years, including reinstating the Secure Communities program, ending excessive extensions to Temporary Protected Status, and limiting abuses of the asylum system.
A federal judge has set the first hearing in the lawsuit that twenty-five states have filed to block President Obama's executive action on immigration. The suit claims that the White House overstepped its authority by granting amnesty and work permits for 5 million illegal aliens.
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen has scheduled the hearing for January 15 at 10 a.m. in Brownsville, Texas.
Senator Dean Heller (R-Nev.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
PJ Media -- Liz Sheld
The latest and last part of the People’s Poll was released early this morning, indicating continued dissatisfaction from GOP voters/leaners about their Representatives support of Obama’s agenda.
A whopping 84% of GOP voters/leaners say that they would be less likely to support the re-election of their Member of Congress if they allowed taxpayer money to spent implementing Obama’s amnesty plan.
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who helped develop and promote the Senate-passed comprehensive amnesty bill (S. 744), told the New York Times that Republicans don’t need to pass an “immigration solution” (aka amnesty) in order to help their chances in the 2016 elections. He said those who argue it would result in a “bonanza” of votes for the GOP are lying.
During a recent interview, top White House aide Dan Pfeiffer said that President Obama would block funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) if the Republican Congress does not fund his executive action to grant illegal aliens amnesty and work permits.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
Senator Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to her earlier statements. She was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
These Senators, including Senator Cochran had an opportunity to back up their rhetoric with action when Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) raised a "point of order" challenging the constitutionality of the president's executive action while the Senate debated the 2015 spending bill.
Senator Daniel Coats (R-Ind.) voted to fund President Obama's executive amnesty during the lame-duck session contrary to his earlier statements. He was one of several Senators who had come out against the president's actions, but then voted much differently.
USA Today -- Senator Chuck Grassley
Presidents have the authority to issue executive orders in various circumstances, constrained by laws and the Constitution. But, as USA TODAY has reported, President Obama has gone to extremes to keep the public from knowing the extent of his unilateral action. In a number of his orders, he has exceeded his constitutional powers and failed to uphold the law.
