Former president Bill Clinton says he believes President Barack Obama is within his legal rights to use an executive order on expected sweeping immigration reform.
"As far as I can tell every president in the modern era has issued some executive orders affecting immigration, so I think it — I imagine he's on pretty firm legal footing," Clinton told attendees at an event that honored the centennial of The New Republic magazine on Wednesday,
the Associated Press reports.
As the nation braced for a feared backlash after Obama's much-anticipated public address about changes in immigration policy, Clinton encouraged unity and inclusion,
the Daily Caller noted of his speech at the gala.
"Every citizen, I believe, has an obligation in some form or another to build up the positive and reduce the negative forces of our interdependence, because one thing we do know — and it’s the reason I’m, I’ve been so upset about the shape of this immigration debate in America — is, in a world where borders look more like nets than walls, we are interdependent, whether we like it or not,” Clinton said.
Clinton had been critical over a delay on amnesty, noting he thought it played a role in the losses racked up by Democrats in midterm elections because many Hispanic voters may have stayed away from the polls,
Politico reported.
Democratic leaders in Congress have offered the president their support as their GOP colleagues have threatened to stand strong against it,
the Washington Post reported, noting a letter of encouragement from a group of senators sent to Obama on Monday.
"Immigrant communities have waited too long for House Republicans to catch up with the American public’s support for comprehensive immigration reform," the letter from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and three deputies noted. "We strongly support your plan to improve as much of the immigration system as you can within your legal authority, and will stand behind you to support changes to keep families together while continuing to enforce our immigration laws in a way that protects our national security and public safety."
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