Pres. Obama is expected to take executive action after November's mid-term elections that would grant amnesty and work permits to an estimated 5-6 million illegal aliens. His reason for taking the action is that he can no longer wait for Congress to pass "comprehensive immigration reform", but any large-scale action would actually contradict what he's stated on the topic throughout his administration. Pro-amnesty groups have time-and-again pressured the President to act, but he's repeatedly said he doesn't have to take the type of action those groups are looking for.
Yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner, who in early-August allowed a vote on H.R. 5272 that would prevent Pres. Obama from taking executive actions on immigration, compiled a list of the President's past statements on the topic.
- "I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own. ... Not just on immigration reform. But that's not how our system works. That's not how our democracy functions. That's not how our Constitution is written." (7/25/11)
- "I am president, I am not king. I can't do these things just by myself. We have a system of government that requires the Congress to work with the Executive Branch to make it happen." (10/25/10)
- "The problem is that I'm the president of the United States, I'm not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed." (2/14/13)
- "[U]ntil Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of what I am able to do." (3/6/14)
- "[I]f we start broadening that [executive actions], then essentially I would be ignoring the law in a way that I think would be very difficult to defend legally. So that's not an option." (9/17/13)
- "I, as the President, am obligated to enforce the law. I don't have a choice about that. ... With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that's just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed .... [F]or me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as President." (3/28/11)
- "[T]here are those in the immigrants' rights community who have argued passionately that we should simply provide those who are [here] illegally with legal status, or at least ignore the laws on the books and put an end to deportation until we have better laws. ... [T]his could lead to a surge in more illegal immigration." (7/1/10)
For more information, visit Speaker Boehner's website.
