The nominee's record makes clear that he is an
independent and fairminded judge who is deeply committed to the
separation of powers. Here is just one example from his many opinions on this point. Just
last year, Judge Gorsuch had to decide a case about the authority of
the Board of Immigration Appeals, or the BIA, which answers to the
Attorney General. The BIA wanted to change the Attorney General's power
to waive immigration requirements for illegal immigrants, and it wanted
the new rules to apply to undocumented immigrants whose waiver
applications were already in the works. The nominee said no to this
executive agency. To be clear, Judge Gorsuch was asked to decide
whether an executive agency in charge of immigration laws could change
the law on a whim in a way that many believed was unfair to immigrants
who had already sought waivers. He said no. With due respect to my friend the minority leader, there is no doubt
that Judge Gorsuch would say no to this or any other part of the
executive branch that oversteps its bounds.
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