No One Asked Me But… (November 26, 2014)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… A President taking unilateral action in the realm of immigration is not a new phenomenon. President George H.W. Bush enacted a Presidential decree that covered millions of people who had entered the country illegally. But there was more to that story.

In 1986, Congress passed a law and President Reagan signed it giving legal status to three million immigrants who had entered the country illegally. That’s the way the system is suppose to work.

In 1987, when the law went into effect, the President and Congress realized it did not cover many of the spouses and children of those pardoned. In 1989, by a vote of 81-17, the Senate voted to prohibit the deportation of the family members of immigrants covered by the 1986 law. The House failed to act and the law never materialized.

In 1990, President George the First established what he called the “family fairness” act. Family members living with a legalized immigrant and who were in the U.S. before the 1986 law were granted protection from deportation and could seek employment.

This unilateral Presidential decree gave legal status to another 1.5 million immigrants. It further spurred the Congress to get off their rear ends and pass a law that made this decree of the President a point of law.

In 2012, President Obama tackled a portion of the immigration issue with his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This policy statement granted a two-year reprieve from deportations to illegal immigrants under the age of 30 and brought to the U.S. before they were 16. They had to have graduated from high school. It also allowed these people to have work permits. The Presidential decree affected about 600,000 people.

This action on the part of the President spurred the Senate in 2013 to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill (68-32). This bill among other things included a pathway to citizenship. However, the House has refused to act on the bill and the President never had an opportunity to sign or reject it.

Now the elections are over and both Houses of Congress will be controlled by the Republicans. It was the Republicans in the House who refused to allow a law to be passed dealing with comprehensive immigration reform. The President, realizing he was not going to get an immigration bill to his liking from Congress, has acted on his own.

President Obama through edict has declared amnesty for approximately 4.4 million illegal aliens. These are people in the country illegally and are parents of American citizens or legal permanent residents. Those illegal aliens can apply for jobs but they cannot vote or qualify for federal government benefits. This edict applies to only those who have been in the country for five years or more. The decree would also cover 270,000 people who have been brought to the country illegally by their parents.

What is the difference in President Obama’s edict and the one delivered by President George Bush the First? President Bush acted with the full support of both Houses of Congress. President Obama’s decree came in defiance of a Republican Congress.

The political mistake President Obama made was he did not do this during the two years he had a majority in both Houses of Congress. During this time, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi could have forced a law through Congress supporting the President’s edict.

It is hard to argue that the President’s amnesty for the targeted illegals doesn’t makes sense. If parents of a minor American citizen were to be deported who would take care of the child? He also targets illegals that have been working off the books and, therefore, paying no federal income taxes.

Before you get too excited about the fact that these people pay no federal income taxes, get excited about men like the Rev. Al Sharpton who are openly courted by government officials and yet owe millions in unpaid federal taxes. How many citizens do you know who make cash transactions so they don’t have to claim the income?

One must admit the President uses fuzzy math to justify his stand on immigration. The President claims his administration has deported more illegals than any past administration. What the President fails to mention is that the counting has changed. His administration counts all people who are caught at the border and immediately returned to Mexico. Those were never counted in previous administrations.

He also alleges that the border is more secure as evidenced by the smaller number of illegals crossing the Mexican border. He did not see it important to mention that this was due mainly to the failing economic situation in the United States which makes it less desirable to come here. Under that logic, if America were to go into a full-blown economic meltdown, we would solve our immigration problem.

The question should not be: ‘Is the decree good or bad?’ The question should be: ‘Is it within the Constitutional Power of the President to do it?’ The answer to that is no, it is not.

Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution states: “All legislative Powers, herein granted shall be vested in Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” What has happened in effect is the executive office has become a legislative office. In the separation of powers inherent in the Constitution, the President has the power to enforce the laws made by Congress, not create them. One must wonder if the former Congressman Obama failed to make the transition to President as he refuses to enforce the laws of the land but continues to write legislation. (That is an issue for another day.)

Congress set the precedence by surrendering its war powers to the President. We have conducted wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan all without a declaration of war by Congress as required by the Constitution.

Article I, Section 8 states: “The Congress has the power to…declare war…” A President who has been given the power to fight wars without Constitutional authority surely would assume he could make immigration law without Congressional action.

All that being said, let me state that I have a great deal more concern over the thousands of Muslim students who have come to America with student visas and have never enrolled in college and have simply disappeared. The sheet-rocker from Mexico presents nowhere near the threat these potential religious fanatics do.

Thought of the week… If Congress doesn’t like what I have done, let them pass a law and place it on my desk.
-President Obama