Early Wednesday morning, December 24, 2014, President Barack Obama did what constitutionalists and Republicans feared most: He signed into law a executive order granting de facto amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. While Americans prepared to celebrate the holidays with their families, the president signed the Immigration and Control Act of 2014. Undeniably an affront to Republicans who oppose amnesty, the bill’s name bared a striking resemblance to Ronald Reagan’s amnesty bill of 1986. Although President Obama has waxed and waned on amnesty over the past few months, it struck many with surprise that the president would go along with such a major change with zero consultation from Congress. Leaders of human rights organizations insist this could lead to violence as massive amounts of immigrants struggle to cross the US/Mexico border before the enactment of the law. A major flaw may be the gap between Obama’s signing of the executive order and its effective date of enactment. Texas is leading a growing coalition of states who claim the executive actions are unconstitutional and plan to sue to force the courts to block the purportedly illegal actions of the Executive Branch. Obama’s executive action safeguards all immigrants arriving before January 15th, 2015 protection from deportation and grants everyone of age who arrives before that date a right to work permit. This could mean millions of new U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents can come out of hiding. Texas Gov.-elect and current Attorney General Greg Abbott says the lawsuit by nearly 20 states poses two major objections: that Obama violated the “Take Care Clause” of the U.S. Constitution and it will “exacerbate the humanitarian crisis along the southern border, which will affect increased state investment in law enforcement, health care, and education.”
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 02:19:51 +0000
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