Posted on 05/11/2015 3:01:16 PM PDT by jazusamo
Top Republicans in Congress on Monday entered the court battle over President Obama's latest moves to ease deportations for immigrants living in the country illegally.
Texas and 25 other states have challenged the legality of the unilateral actions, arguing that the president overstepped his executive power with programs halting deportations and granting work permits to certain groups of undocumented immigrants.
The Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (Va.), are siding squarely with the states, arguing that Obama's action "changes the law and sets a new policy, exceeding the executive’s constitutional authority and disrupting the delicate balance of powers."
"Congress has created a comprehensive immigration scheme — which expresses its desired policy as to classes of immigrants — but the class identified by the [Homeland Security Department] directive for categorical relief is unsupported by this scheme," the lawmakers wrote in an amicus brief filed with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
"Instead of setting enforcement priorities," they added, "it created a class-based program that establishes eligibility requirements that, if met, grant unlawful immigrants a renewable lawful presence in the United States and substantive benefits."
The brief was endorsed by 113 Republicans, including Sens. John Cornyn (Texas), the majority whip, and Ted Cruz (Texas), a 2016 presidential hopeful. In the House, the supporters include Reps. Trey Gowdy (S.C.), Tom Price (Ga.), Mike McCaul (Texas), head of the Homeland Security Committee, and Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the former head of the Judiciary panel.
"[T]he President has unlawfully granted amnesty to millions who came here illegally," Cruz said Monday in a statement.
The court fight centers on a pair of executive actions taken by Obama shortly after last November's midterm elections.
One, known as DAPA, would halt deportations and offer work permits to the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents. The other would expand Obama's 2012 program — the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative — to a greater number of undocumented immigrants brought to the country as kids.
All told, the programs could defer deportation for more than 4 million illegal immigrants.
The states sued the administration over the programs, arguing they mark a case of executive overreach that would saddle their budgets with exorbitant new costs.
In February, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, of Brownsville, Texas, found that the states had a legitimate basis to bring their case. He also blocked the programs temporarily for what he deemed a violation of the federal law allowing public comment when new rules are established.
Hanen has yet to weigh the merits of the challenge, but his initial decision prevents the administration from moving forward with the programs, including the processing of applications.
Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats have hammered that decision, saying the executive actions are well within the president's powers and will eventually be authorized by the courts.
The administration has appealed Hanen's temporary injunction, arguing their case before the 5th Circuit last month. The court has yet to rule on the challenge.
The Republicans' amicus brief argues that the injunction should remain in place while the courts weigh the underlying case.
"President Obama’s decision to ignore the limits placed on his power and act unilaterally to rewrite our nation’s immigration laws are an affront to the Constitution," Goodlatte said Monday in a statement.
"Such lawlessness must be stopped so that we preserve the separation of powers in the Constitution and protect individual liberty."
Jeb Bush Says He Would Not Repeal Obama Immigration Order Right Away
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3288688/posts
I saw that, what a loser. If he had an ounce of integrity he’d change 0bama’s party.
Jeb Putsch needs to forget about his delusional run for the presidency.
Yeah.
But what bugs me is that congress won’t pay for enforcement.
All they have to do is pass money to deport most illegals and the reason Obama claims for his action disappears.
Show me the money, if you’re serious.
And not a single Democrat, I imagine.
Yay, we’re saved /s
Bush would want to wait to suspend the executive order until Congress passed a similar measure and he signed it into law.
ooooh. republicans doing something or something. I will sit here at the edge of my seat.
.....and the block of 500,000 social security numbers issued to illegals recently....
Pretty sad day in America when CONGRESS defers to the Judicial Branch to do their job for them.
Congress has ALL the power in washington, the executive and judicial branch operate according to the whims of CONGRESS!
Congress can Remove the President
Congress can remove the head of every executive agency Congress can remove ALL of their employees
Congress can Abolish every agency they so choose
Congress can remove EVERY JUDGE IN AMERICA, including every supreme court justice.
Congress can abolish every federal court except the supreme Court
Congress can decide which cases the Judicial Branch can hear and decide
CONGRESS can Imprison ANYONE they want for any reason they so desire for as long as they wish.
Congress can declare WAR
No other governing body has even 10% of the power CONGRESS has!!
CONGRESS IS ALLOWING ALL OF IT!!!
Congress has the authority to arrest and imprison those found in Contempt. The power extends throughout the United States and is an inherent power (does not depend upon legislated act)
If found in Contempt the person can be arrested under a warrant of the Speaker of the House of Representatives or President of the Senate, by the respective Sergeant at Arms.
Statutory criminal contempt is an alternative to inherent contempt.
Under the inherent contempt power Congress may imprison a person for a specific period of time or an indefinite period of time, except a person imprisoned by the House of Representatives may not be imprisoned beyond adjournment of a session of Congress.
Imprisonment may be coercive or punitive.
Some references
[1] Joseph Story’s Commentaries on the Constitution, Volume 2, § 842 http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/print_documents/a1_5s21.html
[2] Anderson v. Dunn - 19 U.S. 204 - “And, as to the distance to which the process might reach, it is very clear that there exists no reason for confining its operation to the limits of the District of Columbia; after passing those limits, we know no bounds that can be prescribed to its range but those of the United States.” http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/19/204/case.html
[3] Jurney v. MacCracken, 294 U.S. 125 http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/294/125/case.html 73rd Cong., 78 Cong. Rec. 2410 (1934) https://archive.org/details/congressionalrec78aunit
[4] McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 - Under a warrant issued by the President of the Senate the Deputy to the Senate Sergeant at Arms arrested at Cincinnati, Ohio, Mally S. Daugherty, who had been twice subpoenaed by the Senate and twice failed to appear. http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/273/135/case.html
[5] Rules of the House of Representatives, Rule IV Duties of the Sergeant at Arms - [] execute the commands of the House, and all processes issued by authority thereof, directed to him by the Speaker. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/HMAN-105/pdf/HMAN-105-pg348.pdf
[6] An analysis of Congressional inquiry, subpoena, and enforcement http://www.constitutionproject.org/documents/when-congress-comes-calling-a-primer-on-the-principles-practices-and-pragmatics-of-legislative-inquiry/
——the unilateral actions,——
but, are these actions a capital offense? shouldn’t they be?
And they should have initiated it in 2012 when the DACA (Dreamer) amnesty was issued by Obama.
580,000 SSNs have already been issued to the recipients of the 2012 Dreamer amnesty.
Barak Obama’s dictatorial abuse of power in granting illegals amnesty with the wave of his hand is the 2nd most horrible thing I ‘ve ever seen a “human” do.
The worst thing is that Obama is about to destroy the best invention of mankind , the Internet and the empowerment it gives each individual to find accurate information (for the first time in history). this is an empowerment that sadly only lasted for a couple of decades as on June 12, Obama and his FCC thugs will take control of the Internet:
On June 12, 2015 Obama’s FCC will BEGIN regulating the Internet with socialist regulations manufactured by Soros.
“(Soros strikes again!)FCC Cites Soros-Funded Marxist Group 46 Times in Regs (internet takeover) “
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3267247/posts
“Internet and thought control begins in 31 days!”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3284804/posts
Obama and the FCC will shut down Drudge and freerepublic, and the Internet. I can’t believe even on this site people don’t seem to know or care what Obama is going to do to the Internet:
“FCC Commissioner: Feds May Come for Drudge [Isaiah 29]”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3286140/posts
“(Soros strikes again!)FCC Cites Soros-Funded Marxist Group 46 Times in Regs (internet takeover) “
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3267247/posts
Barak Obama the communist should be put in prison for one year for each one of those social security numbers Obama gave to illegals as that is unlawful and a crime
They could have stopped the executive amnesty order in its tracks if they had tied to the Weezy Lynch vote.
This fake lawsuit b.s. is another effort to placate the idiots who worked to elect a Republican majority.
Like me.
This is frustrating. NOTHING will happen. Lawsuits will be ignored. The ONLY thing that will happen is Obama is physically arrested and removed from the white house. He will simply ignore any court order, any law, any judge’s order, any injunction, and carry on.
YES!
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