Texas and other 16 states questions Obama’s constitutional eligibility by stepping into the immigration issue. This event begins when the lawsuit started in Brownsville, Tex., officially challenges Obama’s act beyond authority on providing working permits and protection on deportation for immigrants. According to the Attorney General Greg Abbott of Texas, Obama is not enforcing the law that is passed by congress but rather changing it. The lawsuit warned Obama that changing the law could bring a whole new series of problems that will affect the Southwest states like their funding and expense.
But the Spokesman of White House said Supreme Court and Congress supported Obama’s actions when they clarity that “federal officials can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws, and we are confident that the president’s executive actions are well within his legal authorities.” While during the conference, Abbott said that Texas was troubled by drug cross-border crimes and illegal immigration issues, therefore they are in a disadvantage at challenging Obama’s actions. He also said that “president’s responsibility to enforce the law was a fundamental promise to the American people”, so any changes on immigration laws should let the Congress decide not the president.
Questions:
Should the congress as well as the president be able to view and interpret social issues differently due the the situation in terms of economic and social stands?
What limits the congressional nullification of Obama’s executive exertion of power?
3 comments:
I believe that Obama is at no fault as both the Supreme Court and Congress supported his actions and claimed that he has not done anything outside of his legal power.Furthermore, I think it was appropriate of Obama to take action and deal with immigration, as Congress was not getting anything done or passed, and the United States can't postpone this issue any longer. While some people such as Abbott think that Congress should be the one to decide on everything, I find that the president has the authority to make changes to legislation, as they do have the power to make executive orders without needing congressional approval. In this case however, changing the law would definitely bring a burden to the Southern states, but if that's the problem, it can be easily fixed by passing additional bills to support the South. If the South is really worried about the economy, they shouldn't be as currently there are many people who can work but cannot due to the fact that are restricted by our immigration system. Lastly, I believe this lawsuit will most likely not have that big of an impact, and will not succeed in claiming that Obama stepped over his legal bounds.
I agree with Elizabeth in that Obama's use of the executive power was in no way a violation of his constitutional eligibility. The issue of immigration had been at a stalemate within Congress and Obama did what he thought was appropriate in dealing with the situation, which in this case was to grant working permits and protection from deportation. I get a sense that the 17 states suing to challenge Obama's initiatives are more out of a party response rather than what is generally beneficial for the country as a whole. For example, like Elizabeth said, Southern states should not be concerned about the impact of the decision on the economy as the role and presence of illegal immigrants within the job force is much larger than most believe. Thus, although controversial, I think Obama's executive order is not worth initiating a lawsuit over.
Obama's decision to step into the immigration issue was in my opinion, a good decision. With all the pressure from the states (which is quite a number of them might I add), by taking responsibility into his own hands he's shown that he's willing to reform immigration policy and respond to the people. He also slightly clarifies the confusion in the constitutional eligibility of his actions in Congress. While I do believe that the Congress and president are entitled to their own opinions, I think that they can find some sort of compromise especially when it comes to the economic and social stances. The addition of bills would help find balance but ultimately, it's up to the states to find a solution to their economic worries. With Obama stepping into the immigration issue, the states can find compromise with the executive branch in that work can be provided for those that are restricted by immigration policies. By working with the president, I'm sure the South can find resolution in their economic circumstances.
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