The news of Congress decision to fully fund Pres. Obamas executive amnesty in the 2015 CRomnibus spending bill was quickly tossed aside this week with news of how the Presidents actions could be impacted by the courts. Shortly after Pres. Obama announced his executive actions on immigration, a group of 18 states filed suit against the Administration claiming that they would be negatively affected by the actions. The states claim that theyll be on the hook for providing public services and beefing up law enforcement, among other things, as a result of the actions. Since the initial suit was filed, 6 more states have signed on -- that means that nearly half the states in the country are suing Pres. Obama over amnesty. And earlier this week, news broke that a judge in western Pennsylvania ruled that the Presidents amnesty is unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the ruling will have no impact on Obamas actions because the constitutionality of the executive actions was not contested in the case; instead, the case involved an illegal alien facing deportation, and the judge asked the attorneys to prepare briefs arguing whether or not the defendant would be eligible for deferred action under the Presidents plan. The judge based his decision on those briefs. Ironically, stories like the one from Pennsylvania could actually make full implementation of Pres. Obamas executive actions more likely. When the new Congress starts session on Jan. 6, both chambers will be controlled by the Republican Party. But GOP Leaders have shown little interest in stopping Obamas amnesty. They had an opportunity during last weeks spending battle, but decided not to pursue defunding the amnesty. Soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) even took it a step further by voting against Sen. Ted Cruzs (R-Texas) constitutional point of order objection while publicly ridiculing his tactics. These lawsuits -- the Pennsylvania decision, the 24 states, and any other future court challenges -- only serve to distract the attention of the American people away from Congress and on the courts. Still, the best option to stop Pres. Obamas executive amnesty is for Congress to exercise its power of the purse and defund the actions. We will be coming to you early in the new year with ways you can help make this happen. LAWMAKERS FACING HEAT BACK HOME Earlier this week, Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) came under fire from her constituents at a Town Hall meeting. Voters were angry with her vote on the CRomnibus bill that fully funds Pres. Obamas amnesty. As reported by the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal: Kansas Rep. Lynn Jenkins told a Lawrence audience Tuesday that immigration reform will be the No. 1 priority for Republicans when the next Congress convenes in January.... But many of the roughly 80 people who attended said they didnt want to wait that long and said they were frustrated that Jenkins voted to provide any funding to the Department of Homeland Security, which runs the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They dont need to be funded, they dont deserve to be funded. Illegal aliens are exactly that, said Renee Slinkard, who said she lives near Kansas City, Kan. Youre giving them Social Security. Youre giving them applications to where they can get work permits that take away the jobs. Youre giving them all of these subsidies that we have to put out with our hard-earned money. Earlier in the week, our Local Activism Manager, Melanie Oubre, had sent an alert to our Kansas activists alerting them of the Town Hall meeting. This is exactly the sort of pressure we need to be placing on our elected officials while theyre home in their districts. Please keep an eye on your Action Board over the next few weeks. Melanie will be posting any local activism opportunities she may find in your area. Also, if you learn of any events that your Members of Congress will be at, please send those to us, so we can alert other activists in your district. chris chmielenski Fri, Dec 19th Action We posted several faxes this week, allowing you to respond to the votes for, or against, funding Pres. Obamas executive amnesty in the CRomnibus spending bill. Please visit your Action Board this weekend. View Action Board Features Grade cards have been updated with last weeks CRomnibus votes. How did your Members votes for or against Obamas amnesty impact their grade? Visit our grade cards to find out. We also encourage you to print out your Congresspersons grade card and drop it off at a local district office. Account Take our interests survey. Let us know what youre interested in so we can add customized actions to your Action Board based on your responses. Language Matters BORDER SECURITY THEY SAY: Border security first THEY WANT: Amnesty & more illegal immigration Republican Leaders in Congress have begun to talk about passing a border security bill as part of their response to Pres. Obamas executive amnesty. We have come to understand that most people who emphasize the phrase Border security first are much more interested in what comes after first than in border security. In the current case, its very likely that GOP Leadership has little interest in stopping Obamas amnesty, but will use a border security bill to provide them with cover. It is important to teach our allies to never use the phrase border security first and to label those who continue to use the phrase as being the supporters of amnesty and illegal immigration that they surely are. 27 Members of Congress Show Support for Anti-Amnesty Lawsuit Twenty-seven Members of Congress, led by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), signed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit brought by two-dozen states challenging President Obamas executive amnesty. The brief states that the presidents executive action changes the law and sets a new policy, exceeding [the presidents] constitutional authority and disrupting the delicate balance of powers. Read Full Story wed, Dec 17th Federal Judge: ObamAS Executive Amnesty is Unconstitutional A federal judge today declared parts of President Obamas executive amnesty to be unconstitutional, but did not issue an injunction stopping its implementation, The Washington Times reports. The judge said Obama exceeded a presidents discretion and accused him of writing laws -- something only Congress can do under the Constitution. While the judges ruling has no direct bearing on Obamas executive amnesty, it suggests direct challenges to its constitutionality may gain traction in other courts where standing is achieve. Judge Grants Expedited Hearing in Lawsuit Seeking to Block Executive Amnesty Last week Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the case Arpaio v. Obama, et. al granted plaintiff Sheriff Joe Arpaios request for an expedited hearing and ruling on his motion for preliminary injunction. Arpaio is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent President Obama from implementing plans to grant three years of deferred action status to millions of illegal aliens. Lawsuit challenges Obama & GOP thinking on high-skilled immigration Could we be on the brink of a shift in conventional wisdom when it comes to high-skilled immigration? ...a federal court has allowed U.S. tech workers to challenge extensions of foreign laborers status here, reports Kenric Ward of the Daily Signal Senate Clears Spending Bill That Funds Obamas Executive Amnesty Senators cleared a $1.1 trillion spending bill after defeating an attempt to block funding for President Obamas executive amnesty. 22 senators voted for the defunding attempt and 74 voted against it. The spending bill funds through the end of the fiscal year all government agencies except the Department of Homeland Security, which is funded only through Feb. 27. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, pledged to challenge Obamas executive amnesty next year but defunding proponent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., said they cant be trusted.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:27:53 +0000
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