Speech #1130121542

So the Supreme Court unanimously said: President Obama. you broke the law. So this purported year of action has brought into focus a President with little respect for the roles of the coequal branches of government. unwilling to explain the legal basis for his actions. and rebuked by the courts and independent agencies for overstepping his boundsquite out of character with somebody who proudly says he is a professor of constitutional law. Now. again. the President is threatening to act unilaterally on immigration. If we thought this years events so far would have given the President pause about his "go it alone" approach. apparently we would be wrong. Of course one of the reasons I oppose mass amnesty is because it is bad policy. Immigration reform should begin with securing our borders. Border security is among the most basic responsibilities of any country and somewhat the definition of what sovereignty is all about. But this administration hasnt done that. To the contrary. according to recent news reports it has freed alleged kidnappers. rapists. and murderers into communities in the United States rather than deport them. It has sacrificed public safety in order to provide relief for people who are here illegally. But the Presidents unilateral action on immigration isnt just bad policy. it is contrary to the rule of law. It is unconstitutional for the executive branch to nullify or even unilaterally rewrite the immigration laws that the people of the United States through their elected representatives have chosen to enact. We have been hearing about the possibility of an Executive action on immigration for many months. It will apparently involve steps to allow millions of people illegally present in the United States to live. work. and collect benefits here. The Democratic leadership wants to compare what is being threatened here to the Executive actions of past Presidents on immigration. but the actions of Presidents Reagan and Bush were merely tying up loose ends. carrying out a law Congress at that time had just passed. They established policies that were later put in the statute in 1990. President Obama is threatening to act directly against the wishes of Congress and on a far greater scope and scale.