Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
If you haven’t notice, Republicans are always willing to pay lip service their alleged desire of wanting to attract more voters of color, and the new inclusive nature of their party.
However, if their collective rhetoric is any indication, the GOP is once again being totally disingenuous.
Last Thursday evening, in a prime-time address to the nation, President Obama chose confrontation over conciliation as he asserted the powers of Oval office to reshape nation’s immigration system and dared members of next-year’s Republican- controlled Congress to reverse his actions on behalf of millions immigrants.
Mr. Obama’s directive will shield up to 5 million people from deportation and allow many to work legally, although it offers no path to citizenship.
In truth, the President is not breaking new ground by using executive powers to carve out a quasi-legal status for certain categories of unauthorized immigrants – the Republican Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and George H. Bush all did so – his decision will affect as many five million immigrants, far more than the actions of those presidents.
Moreover, the White House contends that because Congress does not appropriate enough money to deport all of the 11 million undocumented immigrants estimated to be living in the United States, the president is obligated to choose whom he deports, so cannot reasonably be accused of usurping lawmakers’ authority or failure to execute the law.
Naturally, Republicans are up in arms and have declared that the president has overstepped his boundaries. While others in the GOP ranks are contemplating a different approach, that may encompass a series of court and legislative actions that Republicans could take, including impeachment.
Mr. Obama has finally thrown down the gauntlet on immigration reform after the GOP has consistently dragged its feet by refusing to pass a bill. Granted, he’s a lame duck president and his executive action on immigration will lapse once he leaves office. This is an historic move and clearly the right thing to do! Postscript: I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!