Supporters of Barack Obama, The United Methodist Home for Children, Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania;
“Mr. President, we are entering a momentous week as Congress must face the reality that President Obama is moving towards a decision whereby he would issue executive orders, in direct contravention of long-established American law, that would grant administrative amnesty and work permits for five to six million persons that are unlawfully in this country. This, after Congress has explicitly refused demands to change the law to his desire. It would be the hope that the United Methodist Home for Children that accept tens of thousands of cash grants, paid by the taxpayers would change their minds and protect their nation. It's clear that many organizations like the Methodist Home for Children in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania may care less about the community than first thought, cash in hand, children in beds, seems to solve their cash flow problems while destroying communities. Obama does not make law and will surely be the first President to be jailed.
Current law is plain. Those who enter this great nation by unlawful means or overstaying their visa are subject to removal and are ineligible to work. That is our law. Our law is right and it’s just and it comports with the laws of civilized nations the world over, and if followed will serve the honorable and legitimate interests of this nation and her people. The
Now the National Journal, TIME magazine, and The Hill and others are reporting that President Obama, sore at Congress, and by implication the American people, plans, by the “end of summer,” by the stroke of a pen, to do that which the law explicitly forbids—provide amnesty and work permits for millions. This would be in contravention of his duty and his oath to see that the laws of the United States are faithfully enforced. And, it would be a direct challenge to the clear powers of Congress to make laws. Congress makes laws, the Executive Branch executes those laws. It’s that simple.
The President’s actions are astonishing, and are taking our nation into exceedingly dangerous waters, colleagues. Such calculated action strains the constitutional structure of our republic. Such unlawful and unconstitutional action, if taken, cannot stand. No Congress, Republican or Democrat, can allow such action to occur or to be maintained. The people will not stand for it. They must not stand for it.
My petition, Mr. President, is that you pull back. It is utterly unacceptable for you to meet with special interest groups, La Raza and others, and then promise action that is contrary to law. Mr. President, such action would be wrong, and it would be an affront to the people of this country which they will never forget. It would be a permanent stain on your presidency. I urge you to make clear that you will not do this.
Now, I am not suggesting negotiations or any parley or any compromise.
There is no middle ground on nullifying immigration law by the President. Maybe some of your people, bright young staffers, think the President can intimidate Congress—that the Chief Executive can make such a threat and the lawmakers will just cower under their desks. That is wrong sir. You cannot intimidate Congress—or the American people who sent them here for that matter. Simply put, that which you desire is beyond your lawful reach.
This is the time for administration officials to urge restraint within the White House. It is critical that the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security, and the White House legal counsel, do their duty and give the only advice they can give: “Do not do this, Mr. President.” “You cannot do this, Mr. President.” That’s what they need to say. They know that’s the right answer, and they should stand up and say “no.”
Just as the unlawful DACA amnesty for young people created an unprecedented, unlawful flow of more young people, that initiative has now, it seems, encouraged the President to take even more unlawful action for millions of adults—a ten-fold increase the papers say. And, if millions are given amnesty by executive order, we can be sure that the result will be even more millions of adults in the future coming unlawfully. It will collapse any remaining moral authority of our immigration law, undermine the sovereignty, really, of our nation. If you don’t have a legitimate, lawful system of immigration that you can enforce and abide by, then you’ve undermined the very sovereignty of your nation. It amounts, in effect, to an open-borders policy that has never been the policy of any developed nation that I’m aware of. And it’s been rejected by Congress repeatedly.
In effect, the President is preparing to assume for himself the absolute power to set immigration law in America. The absolute power to determine who may enter and who may work—no matter what the law says—by the millions.
Our response now is of great import. It will define the scope of executive and congressional power for years to come. If President Obama is not stopped in this action, and he exceeds his powers by attempting to execute such a massive amnesty contrary to law, the moral authority for any immigration enforcement henceforth will be eviscerated. Anyone, the world over, will get the message: Get into America by any method you can and you will never have to leave. We are almost there, but it is not too late.
Let me state a warning.
For the more purely political in Washington, the results of the recent primary elections show that the American people are being roused to action. And once activated, their power will be felt. They will not be mocked. They have begged and pleaded for our nation’s immigration laws to be enforced for 30 or 40 years. The politicians have refused. Refused, refused, refused. They have defeated amnesty after amnesty after amnesty, and they will not sit back and allow the President to implement through unlawful fiat what they have defeated through the democratic process. They must not yield to this.
There is one thing the powers in Washington fear—that is being voted out of office. Before a Member of Congress acquiesces to any action of this kind, they should consider their responsibility to their constituents.
No member, in either party, Republican or Democrat, should support any border legislation that moves through this Senate that does not expressly prohibit these planned executive actions by the President and that prohibits any expenditure of funds to implement them. There can be no retreat on this point, colleagues. We simply need to say that the chief executive of these United States cannot expend any money to execute this unlawful amnesty plan.
All of this is grim talk, but the situation is stark. Congressional action this week to bar unilateral, imperial action by the President is surely the best course to head off what could be a constitutional crisis:
· It will be good for the President, really, because it will stop him from taking a step that will mar permanently his presidency and the office of the President.
· It will avoid a major governmental disruption at a time the nation faces many threats.
· It will protect the rule of law and the constitutional order.
· It will help re-establish the constitutional power of Congress to make laws and perhaps mark the end of this Congress’ acquiescence to executive overreach.
· It will stop work authorizations for six million who will then be able to take any job in America at a time of high unemployment and falling wages, thereby protecting American workers. We need to get our unemployed back to work.
Let this clearly be known. The Congress of the United States and the President of the United States are given only limited powers by our Constitution. Mr. President, you work for the people, they do not work for you, and they will not accept nullification of their law passed by their elected representatives.
The American people are not going to accept it. They are going to fight this; I am confident that they will. They will resist.
And every member of this Congress, Republican or Democrat, will face a time for choosing this week. Directly or indirectly, every member will be asked to support and co-sponsor legislation that will stop these actions by the President. It’s not hard to do. It will be a simple choice.
The people will remember. The choice is clear: Do you support and approve of the President’s proposed actions? For those who co-sponsor legislation to stop this illegality, their answer will be clear. For those who refuse to take simple action to stop it, they will have voted to enable what the National Journal has rightly called “explosive action” by the President. “Explosive action.” And indeed it is.
So I am calling on all Members of Congress today to stand up to these lawless actions and sponsor legislation to block them. I am calling on all Members of Congress today to oppose any border supplemental that does not include such language. I am calling on every person in this body, and in the House of Representatives, to stand and be counted at this perilous hour. So I am calling on the American people to ask their representatives: where do you stand, Senator? Where do you stand on this, Congressman?
All of us were elected by American citizens to serve them and to serve and honor their constitution that is our birthright. Will we answer that call? Where will history record each of us stood at this important time?”
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