Obama Abandons Constitution with Immigration Order

President Obama announced today on his Facebook page that he will talk to America at 8 p.m. EST Thursday about his plan to shelter up to 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation, bypassing Congress and acting by executive order. Those covered will be able to get work permits but not federal benefits such as tax credits for Obamacare coverage. ~~~~~ Republicans are furious with the President about his threat to act on immigration by executive order. Some Republicans in Congress have threatened to shut down the government if the President issues such an executive order. Other Republicans have raised the possibility of refusing to pass a continuing resolution funding the government after mid-December as a means of making Obama withdraw such an action. But on Sunday, Represenrative Tom Cole, the Republican House deputy whip, warned his colleagues that shutting down the government is exactly what President Obama wants them to do : “I think the President wants a fight...I think he is trying to bait us into doing some of these extreme things that have been suggested.” The Washington Post said staffers for Senate Majority Leader-elect Mitch McConnell late last week distributed a memo to the more conservative members of the GOP, arguing that the last government shutdown had badly hurt the party. On Fox News Sunday, the network senior political analyst Brit Hume said : "It is an iron rule in Washington, exemplified many times, that if the government shuts down, the Republicans get the blame. Not some of the blame. Not most of the blame. All of the blame.” On Sunday, Republican lawmakers appeared on talk shows and said they weren’t interested in shutting down the government because of an immigration fight. Senator John Thune told Fox : “Republicans are looking at different options of how best to respond. Shutting the government down doesn’t solve the problem.” Even Senator Mike Lee, one of Obama’s most vocal detractors and a strong Tea Party conservative, dismissed shutdown rumors : “We’re not heading into a government shutdown. Congress is going to stand up to the President. Exactly what we do may depend on what he does and how he does it.” ~~~~~ The illegal immigrant issue has several key components. First and most important, one out of every six adult males aged 25 to 54 do not have jobs. Many of these men could be employed if Obama simply enforced the immigration laws already on the books and pushed the states to cooperate by requiring proof of citizenship to possess driver's licenses, enroll children in schools and access social services. This would put unemployed Americans in the preferred position when job-hunting. Second, GOP congressional leaders recognize rhat winning back the White House in 2016 will be more difficult if they ignore the sentiment of Hispanic voters, who have called on the President and Congress to ignore US immigration laws and thereby end deportations. Third, President Obama's continuing relaxed enforcement of US immigration laws has encouraged Central and South Americans and Mexicans to try to slip across US southern borders, knowing that once across the border, they will have a good chance of remaining in America. This has the effect of allowing into the country not only unskilled workers who drive down wages for Americans but also criminals who deal in drugs and human trafficking, and those with undetected serious communicable diseases ~~~~~ It is possible to enact a bipartisan compromise immigration law that finally *seals the border, *limits the legalization of undocumented workers to truly worthy cases, *provides for the entry of immigrants with skills needed by the US, and *establishes a rational and effective deportation policy. Instead, President Obama is now going to grant legal status to millions of illegal workers through an executive order that even Obama has said is questionable under the Constitution and circumvents prior laws enacted by Congress. ~~~~~ In addition, an NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll taken last weekend shows that half of Americans oppose President Obama’s plan to take executive action this week to allow millions of undocumented immigrants to legally remain in the country, even though Americans support attempts to help undocumented immigrants obtain citizenship. Obama's plan to take action without congressional consent is opposed by 48%, while 38% expressed support for the immigration plan, and 14% were undecided or had no opinion. Despite opposition to Obama’s proposed executive action, 57% of those surveyed were in favor of efforts to facilitate citizenship for undocumented immigrants and 75% of Americans would support the efforts if undocumented applicants were submitted to background checks and potential fines. Of 100 Latinos who responded to the survey, 43% favored Obama’s immigration plan, compared to 37% who were opposed. Nearly 65% of Democrats support executive action, compared to just 11% of Republicans. ~~~~~ Dear readers, these poll results have been replicated often over the past several months, making it meaningful for Republican leaders in the new Congress to forcefully oppose the President. However, the results will also encourage the President and his supporters to paint the GOP as anti-Hispanic, even though the GOP has fielded Hispanic candidates elected as Senators, Representatives, Governors and state and local officeholders. So, while Democrats may think that acting to loosen even more the Obama immigration enforcement policies by executive order might help some Democrats in 2016, it will do so by trashing the rule of law, selling out millions of unemployed Americans and reducing the incomes of working families. And, considering the November 4 midterm election results, the Democratic Party should be cautious. Republicans won 54 Senate seats, extended their House majority to an historic high, now hold 32 governorships, and a large majority of state legislatures and local offices - more than at any time since 1920. We may conclude that ignoring what Americans believe to be government's role may prevail for long periods, especially when the enforced policies seem to be socially "good" - as Bill Clinton liked to say, " the right thing to do." But, that tolerance for Democrat liberal socialism finally failed in America. Socialist policies long ago failed in Europe where unemployment stands at more than 12% on average, with a high of 25%, and where Europe cannot find the money it needs to continue to pay for the cradle-to-grave benefits Europeans are now addicted to. But he US midterms reflect a re-awakening of Americans to their conservative roots -- and yes, that includes immigrants, if they enter legally and join America in its goals of individual freedom and responsibility, with the government providing security and infrastructure, and appropriate safety nets. Legal immigration - yes. Nanny state benefits for illegal immigrants - no.