Politico
By Seung Min Kim
October 30, 2014
In
case President Barack Obama forgot, congressional Republicans really –
really — don’t want him to take executive action on immigration, like he
has promised.
Three
GOP senators stressed that point again on Thursday, when Arizona Sen.
John McCain, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Florida Sen. Marco
Rubio warned Obama that sweeping unilateral
action would be “detrimental” to a more permanent fix to the
immigration system.
Obama
is poised to issue a directive sometime before the end of the year
that’s expected to ease deportations for potentially millions of
immigrants here illegally. He had pledged to do so
after House Republicans failed to take up a legislative overhaul this
year.
In
a letter sent Thursday to the White House, McCain, Graham and Rubio
said they “strongly urge” Obama against an executive order and that
immigrants here illegally should not be given legal
status until the southern border is secured and immigration laws are
being enforced. They also questioned whether Obama had the legal
authority to take such a wide-scale executive action.
“In
this regard, acting by executive order on an issue of this magnitude
would be the most divisive action you could take – completely
undermining any good-faith effort to meaningfully address
this important issue, which would be a disservice to the needs of the
American people,” the three senators wrote.
McCain,
Rubio and Graham were three GOP members of the so-called Gang of Eight
that co-authored the Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill. A fourth
Republican senator involved in those efforts,
Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, did not sign on.
The
Republicans’ message came after three key House Democrats penned an
op-ed earlier Thursday, where they laid out their rationale for why
Obama has the legal authority to act on his own
on immigration.
For
instance, Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush took executive
action through the so-called “Family Fairness” program to protect
spouses and children of immigrants granted legal
status under a 1986 law, wrote the lawmakers – House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Rep. Zoe
Lofgren (D-Calif.).
“The
fact is, just as presidents before him, President Obama has broad
authority to make our immigration system better meet the needs of our
country and reflect our shared values,” the Democrats
wrote. “And every administration since President Dwight D. Eisenhower
has used executive authority to do just that.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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