Speech #1130123877

I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker. it has been said repeatedly that we need to do immigration reform. and I certainly dont disagree with that. but the United States Constitution says that immigration reform must be done by the United States Congress. and the President doesnt say. nor does the Constitution say. "Hey. if the Congress doesnt do it or doesnt do it the way I like it. then I get the opportunity to do it myself." That is not what the Constitution says. It says the President shall faithfully execute the laws. Now. the gentleman from New York. in talking about the impact of the Presidents executive action here says. "Oh. the people who are here illegally and are taking jobs. they are taking jobs that Americans dont want." Well. maybe there is some truth to that. maybe some of them are not. but the fact of the matter is the President has unilaterally taken an executive order that would give every single one of the 4 million to 5 million undocumented people in the United States who take jobs. to take any job in the country they want to. as good a job. as highpaying a job as they want. So. yes. we need to do immigration reform. The American people want us to do immigration reform. but they want us to start with enforcement first. Instead. what the President has done. he has taken the law into his own hands. That is the real issue in this case and the real matter before the Congress and the real import of this legislation. It is not about where you are on immigration reform. it is about where you are on protecting the United States Constitution. Because this Presidents actions are unprecedented. this Presidents actions are beyond the pale. this Presidents actions are unconstitutional. This legislation offered by the gentleman from Florida stops that.