I watched only a few moments last night, and listened for a few more. It concerns me the president referenced Reagan and Bush 41 regulations and interpretations of laws* passed in Congress in comparison to his Executive Order that will completely ignore current law. But that’s not all conservatives are rightfully bitching about.
First, head over to read Paul Mirengoff’s piece at Powerline clearly explaining why previous actions by Reagan and Bush 41 provides no precedent for Obama’s action.
Unlike what Obama is about to do, Presidents Reagan and Bush 41 issued immigration regulations that were expressly authorized by a law passed by Congress.
In 1986, Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The Act required him to adjust the status of certain illegal immigrants to the category of “alien lawfully admitted for temporary residence.”
The Act also authorized the Attorney General to allow other illegal immigrants who did not qualify for the amnesty to remain in the U.S. if needed “to assure family unity.”
Accordingly, in May 1987, the Justice Department issued regulations that interpreted the the term “family unity” as calling for the maintenance of the “family group.” Family group was defined as including “the spouse, unmarried minor children under 18 years of age who are not member of some other household, and parents who resided regularly in the household of the family group.” Thus, not all spouses and children were included.
This regulation was not an exercise of prosecutorial discretion or the assertion of a generalized right to suspend “oppressive” immigration laws. Rather, the administration made it clear that it was carrying out the direction of Congress.
Also, remember that just because Congress passed and Reagan and Bush 41 signed the legislation does not mean all conservatives think it was the right thing to do then or today.
Go review the “fact check” article from the Associated Press. They touch on a few items. It very much annoys me when politicians point to one supposed cause when it comes to an effect. When they do that, you know they are lying. Just because the Obama administration is in charge and “working hard to secure the border” absolutely does not automatically mean their efforts resulted in a reduction in border crossings. That’s the explanation of the delusional for the simple fact there are hundreds of variables involved when it comes to the number of people who want to come to the United States illegally. To keep it short, one big one… it’s the economy stupid. How was the United States economy doing during the downward trend period? The numbers declined in part because there were fewer people who wanted to come.
Last night, the president said “All we’re saying is we’re not going to deport you.” So much for the president just employing prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis. It is not at all lawful for the president to simply stop prosecuting a complete sub-set of crime and hand out work permits. I would expect a Supreme Court challenge here. I think the president moving forward to hand out work permits to five million illegal aliens would be an impeachable offense if he demands the Executive Branch does this.
We expect people who live in this country to play by the rules. We expect that those who cut the line will not be unfairly rewarded. So we’re going to offer the following deal: If you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you’re willing to pay your fair share of taxes — you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. That’s what this deal is.
Now, let’s be clear about what it isn’t. This deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. It does not apply to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future. It does not grant citizenship, or the right to stay here permanently, or offer the same benefits that citizens receive -– only Congress can do that. All we’re saying is we’re not going to deport you.
So in one sentence he says you will not have the right to stay here permanently, and the next sentence states we’re not going to deport you. Got it.
So, who is going to pay for all of this stuff? Five million registrations. Five million background checks. Five million tax reviews by IRS agents. Five million work permits. Total smoke and mirrors. By definition, these “undocumented workers” have no documents to prove anything. If illegal aliens start lining up, they will be churning out paperwork for them on-demand with few if any questions asked at all.
I can see James O’Keefe or one of his staff members showing up with an Publisher’s Clearing House notification and an old Blockbuster membership card in exchange for detailed instructions on how to fill out the application and get their photo ID and work permit.
Exit question: Will any federal employees charged with registering illegal aliens and handing them work permits stand up and say “this is not right.”
* On interpretation of the law by the Executive. Here lies a serious issue. There is no reason – none at all – Congress can not pass legislation that is very clear when it comes to how the Executive Branch should execute/enforce the law. This has been happening for the last five decades-plus and is all tied into my Symptom of the Disease series. By opening up legislation to very wide interpretation of the law – this immigration Executive Order will go WAY beyond that – Congress (the people) are handing over more and more power to the Executive Branch, in this case Emperor Obama. The states have handed over too much power to the federal government, and Congress has handed over too much power to the Executive through the passage of vague legislation.