Obama, GOP Brace for Political War on Immigration

USA Today

By David Jackson

November 9, 2014

Obama, GOP brace for political war on immigration

Like boxers at the start of a bout, President Obama and newly empowered Republicans are circling each other over the politically contentious issue of immigration.

 

The issue could even affect confirmation of a new attorney general.

 

While Obama again pledged to issue executive orders on immigration policy, Republicans who will soon take control of the Senate said Sunday that "amnesty" orders will poison relations for the rest of the president's term.

 

"It will hurt cooperation on every issue," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo, on Fox News Sunday.

 

Speaking within a week of elections in which the GOP won Senate control and expanded its House majority, Barrasso said: "What the president does over the next two months is going to set the tone for the next two years."

 

In an interview on CBS' Face The Nation, Obama said immigration policy needs to be changed, but added that congressional Republicans can always override his executive orders by passing a comprehensive immigration bill.

 

"They have the ability, the authority, the control to supersede anything I do through my executive authority by simply carrying out their functions over there," Obama said of Congress.

 

The minute Republicans pass a bill he can sign, Obama said that "then what I've done goes away."

 

Republican congressional leaders said they are concerned that Obama's forthcoming executive orders could legalize the status of millions of migrants currently in the country illegally.

 

Describing that approach as "amnesty," congressional Republicans have also objected to an Obama-backed bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for people in the country illegally.

 

The president is expected to disclose executive orders on immigration by the end of the year.

 

Obama said the government needs to secure the border and create a more efficient immigration system. He said that, under his preferred plan, people in the country illegally would have to pay fines, learn English, and "get to the back of the line" before they can "legalize themselves" in the U.S.

 

"We don't have the capacity to deport 11 million people," Obama said. "Everybody agrees on that."

 

Republicans who take control of the Senate in early January said the president's immigration orders could affect confirmation of Loretta Lynch, whom Obama is nominating for attorney general.

 

Two of the more conservative Senate Republicans — Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah — released a joint statement this weekend saying Lynch should issue a statement on "whether or not she believes the president's executive amnesty plans are constitutional and legal."

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com