President Barack Obama's 2014 executive amnesty action will protect some 4-5 million illegal aliens from being deported. With a bold disregard for constitutional concerns regarding separation of powers, Obama declared that Congress failed to pass immigration legislation and therefore his executive action was necessary. The Obama administration is embroiled in yet another scandal of its own making and the White House's continuous involvement in significant controversy may turn out to be Obama's legacy.
Here are eight facts about President Barack Obama's amnesty scandal:
1. On November 20 2014, President Obama issued what the administration deemed, "A series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation."
2.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Obama's executive action on immigration includes expanding the population eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, allowing illegal immigrant parents of U.S. citizens to request deferred deportation action for three years and expanding the use of provisional waivers to include spouses, sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents.
3. According to
Politico, on the issue of the broken immigration system, President Obama said, "Unfortunately, Washington has allowed the problem to fester for too long. What I am going to be laying out are the things I can do with my lawful authority as president to make the system work better, even as I continue to work with Congress."
4. On numerous occasions between 2008 and the 2014
executive action on immigration, President Obama repeatedly stated he did not have the authority to change immigration law on his own but would need bipartisan support to do so. In 2011 Obama stated, "I know some here wish that I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that’s not how democracy works. See, democracy is hard. But it’s right. Changing our laws means doing the hard work of changing minds and changing votes, one by one."
5. In December 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Schwab determined, "President Obama’s unilateral legislative action violates the separation of powers provided for in the United States Constitution, as well as the Take Care Clause, and therefore is unconstitutional," reports the
Washington Times.
6. Twenty-four states have joined a legal challenge to Obama's executive action on amnesty. Texas Attorney General and incoming Texas Governor Greg Abbot asserts, "The president's proposed executive decree violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, circumvents the will of the American people and is an affront to the families and individuals who follow our laws to legally immigrate to the United States," reports
CNN.
7. The states that have taken a stance on the Obama executive action amnesty scandal and have joined the legal challenge are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
8. In early January 2015, the House passed legislation with the intent to overturn President Obama's actions on immigration. The legislation has far-reaching repercussions and the vote, 236-91 with 10 Republicans voting against it, revealed a division within the Republican Party.
The legislation was attached to a "must-pass" funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Rep.Tom Marino (R-Pa) said, "If Homeland Security shuts down, it's because the president vetoes the budget because he can't get his amnesty for illegal aliens," reports the
Los Angeles Times.
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