While president threatens action, Republicans plan to grill attorney general pick on legality of acting alone.WASHINGTON — Washington is bracing for a political fistfight on a proposed executive order that would grant a reprieve for as many as 12 million illegal immigrants.
A week after they seized control of the Senate, Republicans warned President Obama again not to halt deportations for and give work permits to millions of undocumented workers. “It would be a major provocation and undoubtedly result in a backlash among R’s of every stripe. Not a good way to start an era of divided government,” an aide to a Senate Republican leader wrote in an email.
A top aide to a House Republican said backbenchers will take their cue from leadership after Congress resumes business on Wednesday. “I know they all followed the exchanges last week and all the president said, but I believe they want to hear from our leadership. As you know, this is a big issue and it is tied to other important issues,” the aide wrote in an email interview.
Last Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters that an executive order would "poison the well" with Republicans, and "there will be no chance of immigration reform moving in this Congress. It’s as simple as that."
Supporters of an immigration overhaul, too, use strong words about a proposed executive order. A leading Catholic bishop is among them. In an interview with Crux, Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson said “(i)t may be necessary for the president to step up and to act in a way that addresses the needs of families.” Bishop Kicanas said he prefers that Congress craft a bipartisan and comprehensive solution, but that congressional paralysis is hurting the families of illegal and undocumented immigrants.
Bishop Kicanas has served as a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration Committee and was a member of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
The Arizona bishop’s words echoed Obama’s. In an interview that aired Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Obama described his dilemma this way: “I’d prefer, and still prefer, to see it done through Congress. But every day that I wait, we’re misallocating resources, we’re deporting people that shouldn’t be deported, we’re not deporting folks that are dangerous and need to be deported.”
An executive order or action would allow illegal immigrants the right to work and not be sent home to their native country unless they committed a crime. According to various estimates, 12 million immigrants lack proper documentation or entered the country illegally.
For immigration reform supporters such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a sweeping executive order would help reunite families and extend legal protection to marginalized and vulnerable residents. Opponents of an immigration overhaul say that any legislation or executive order would be a blanket "amnesty." They argue that an executive order would not only contravene the will of Congress and the rule of law but also drive down the wages of working-class citizens.
The warring words between immigration reform supporters and opponents have been years in the making.
In 2005 and 2006, President George W. Bush attempted to reform the nation’s immigration laws, but conservative Republicans nixed his attempt. In 2012, President Obama issued an executive order that granted a legal reprieve to more than half a million young illegal and undocumented immigrants. Immigration reformers won another victory after the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a comprehensive bill in June 2013 by a 68 to 32 margin, but the legislation has stalled in the Republican-controlled House.
The dustup over a proposed executive order began in June. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost a primary election partly because voters perceived him as too soft on immigration reform. Two weeks later, House Speaker John Boehner told Obama that the House would not consider the Senate immigration bill.
On June 30, Obama vowed to stand firm for reform, saying he would act unilaterally if necessary to take millions of immigrants “out of the shadows” of society.
“I’m beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress,” Obama said in a statement from the Rose Garden.
Despite the firm rhetoric, Obama has delayed releasing an executive order. In June, he said would issue the order by the end of the summer, but in early September he hinted that Democrats in contested races urged him to wait until after the elections were over. “When I take executive action, I want to make sure that it’s sustainable,” Obama said.
The intensity of Republican opposition may depend on an order’s scope and sweep.
“Our members are discussing. We haven’t issued any new statements on that. And don’t know yet what exactly the president plans,” said Don Stewart, spokesman for Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Minority Leader who takes over as Senate Majority Leader in January.
Meanwhile, Senate Republican firebands Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah said they will quiz Obama’s pick for Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, about her views on the constitutionality of an executive order.
“The Attorney General is the president’s chief law enforcement officer. As such, the nominee must demonstrate full and complete commitment to the law. Loretta Lynch deserves the opportunity to demonstrate those qualities, beginning with a statement whether or not she believes the president’s executive amnesty plans are constitutional and legal,” they said in a joint statement last week. Roll Call first reported the news of the statement.
