President Barack Obama is planning changes to U.S. immigration policy that aren't "good at all," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, and he wants the president to tell the American people the specifics.
Earlier this month Obama angered immigration activists by announcing he was going to delay a decision on issuing an executive order to change immigration laws until after the midterm elections. Goodlatte said it was important for the president to share his proposed changes before voters decide their representatives in the fall.
"He's got something planned that is not good at all. And, that's why I want to continue to call the attention of the American people and continue to press him to be straightforward about this," the Virginia Republican told Newsmax TV's "America's Forum" on Wednesday.
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Goodlatte questioned why the president was waiting on announcing the changes until after the elections, adding "the American people should be outraged" about using the election to postpone such an important decision.
"What's magical about the elections, in terms of public policy? Why not January 1? February 1?" he asked. "He is doing this in a way that suggests that he doesn't want them to know what he's going to do until after the election, until after they voted on who's going to control the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives."
An announcement could be postponed until the end of the year, Goodlatte said, since it was possible that a runoff would take place in Louisiana's tightly contested Senate race for the seat currently held by Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu. He said he heard the Congressional Hispanic Caucus was giving Obama some "wiggle room" to delay a decision until late December, if needed.
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Goodlatte, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said he sent Obama a letter along with 21 other Republican lawmakers urging the president to "tell us what his plans are, since he's had plenty of time to put them together." He said the White House had not responded to the letter, and that he had also been trying to meet with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about the matter.
Immigration was an issue "Congress needs to deal with," Goodlatte said, adding lawmakers could start by "enforcing our current immigration laws." He said Obama was "ignoring the Congress' role" in his desire to "jump way ahead and give millions, millions of people who are illegal in the country, legal status, work authorization, other benefits."
Goodlatte was also concerned Obama was planning immigration changes even though he had gotten "widespread criticism that he is taking the law into his own hands in many areas, not just immigration." He said it was "never acceptable for the executive branch to ignore the Constitution and unilaterally give amnesty to unlawful immigrants."