Wall Street Journal
By Kate Zezima
November 16, 2014
The
debate over immigration continued on the Sunday talk shows, with
Democrats defending President Obama's pledge to act on his own if
Congress doesn't pass an immigration bill and Republicans
continuing to criticize what they see as a potential overreach.
Speaking
on ABC's "This Week," Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said he believes
President Obama is attempting to "bait" Republicans into taking
"extreme" measures such as shutting down the government,
something he called an "inappropriate weapon" that will not be
deployed.
"I
think the president wants a fight. I think he’s actually trying to bait
us into doing some of these extreme things that have been suggested. I
don’t think that we will," Cole said, adding
that Obama has been "political" and "cynical."
Rep.
Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who appeared on the same show, and said Obama
has already attempted to work with Republicans, to no avail.
So why, in Gutierrez's opinion, should Obama act now?
"Because millions of American families are dependent on the president fixing a broken immigration system," he said.
When
House Speaker John Boehner said he is going to fight Obama "tooth and
nail" on immigration, Gutierrez said it actually will be a fight with
the people.
"He’s wrong. He’s going to have this fight with millions of Americans," he said.
Cole
said the disagreement is about more than immigration reform, which
Republicans believe is needed — it's about the process Obama may take to
go about it.
"His
fight is with the process that the president is using, a process the
president himself said was unconstitutional a few years ago," Cole said.
He said a remedy to any action, should it
come, is likely to emerge through the courts.
Speaking
on CBS's "Face the Nation," Mitt Romney said Obama should allow the
Republican Congress to draft an immigration bill. He said, "Poking the
Republicans in the eye with a stick is not
a good idea, He knows that."
Romney
said there are "more productive ways" to send Obama a message on
immigration than shutting down the government. He said executive action
could be an overreach that violates the balance
of power.
"The
idea of violating the principles of our constitution, which is a
balance of power, checks and balances, that is something that is wrong
and not to the president’s benefit,” Romney said.
Speaking
on "Face the Nation," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said that executive
action isn't her first choice — "I'm not crazy about it," she said —
but that Boehner has "refused to debate
one of the most complicated and difficult problems" facing the country.
McCaskill urged Congress to work together.
Former
attorney general Alberto Gonzales said on CNN's "State of the Union"
that he doesn't see the urgency for Obama to act, as he could have done
so before the election.
But
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) said on "State of the Union" that Republicans
"can't have it both ways" and that if they fail to pass a bill, "I will
support" Obama taking executive action.
Durbin
said that he has "given up" on Boehner when it comes to immigration and
that unless the House is willing to pass a bill on it during the
lame-duck session, Obama should act unilaterally.
"This president is not going to go gently into his last two years," Durbin said. "He's going to lead, as he's expected to."
Sen.
Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on "Face the Nation" that even if Obama "doesn't
respect elections, he needs to respect the rule of law."
Lee
said it's difficult to know how Republicans will respond to executive
action because the president's plans are not yet known.
"It’s difficult for us to know how best we should respond when we don’t know what he’s going to do yet," he said.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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