Thursday, November 20, 2014

Smith Responds to President’s Amnesty Plan

 

“We have already seen how the President’s youth amnesty encouraged tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors to pour across the border.  Providing amnesty to millions of additional undocumented immigrants will only encourage others to break our laws and make it more difficult to fix our broken immigration system. 
“Worse than the specific policy is the precedent President Obama continues to set by ignoring Congress and the will of the American people.  Failing to perform his Constitutional duty to enforce laws undermines our system of government and reinforces the gridlock plaguing Washington.  Solutions will require both sides to work through regular order to come to an agreement.”
Background:
President Obama has regularly admitted he does not have the authority to bypass the legislative process and change laws on his own.  The Speaker’s office has compiled a list of 22 times the President specifically said he could not ignore or create his own immigration law.  
During a 2010 speech to students at American University, the President explained why giving amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants would be “unwise and unfair.”  In the President’s own words:
“For example, there are those in the immigrants’ rights community who have argued passionately that we should simply provide those who are [here] illegally with legal status, or at least ignore the laws on the books and put an end to deportation until we have better laws.  And often this argument is framed in moral terms:  Why should we punish people who are just trying to earn a living? 
“I recognize the sense of compassion that drives this argument, but I believe such an indiscriminate approach would be both unwise and unfair.  It would suggest to those thinking about coming here illegally that there will be no repercussions for such a decision.  And this could lead to a surge in more illegal immigration.  And it would also ignore the millions of people around the world who are waiting in line to come here legally. 
“Ultimately, our nation, like all nations, has the right and obligation to control its borders and set laws for residency and citizenship.  And no matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these laws should be held accountable.”

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