Congressman David Jolly is asking President Barack Obama not to issue an executive order to enforce parts of Immigration Reform Congress has yet to approve.
The executive action is expected to expand deferred action of undocumented children to their families and could stall deportations of as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants. Deferred action currently only applies to those who had no legal status in the U.S. on June 15, 2012 and were younger than 31 on that same date. Those individuals would have to be crime-free and enrolled in or have already completed school or equivalency. Obama is expected to take executive action by year’s end.
In a letter to Obama, Jolly specifically states that doing so would strip Americans of their right to a voice in Congress.
“Instead of issuing an Executive Order to unilaterally enact your ideas on border security and immigration, please consider proposing your plan in a detailed legislative proposal and send that proposal to Congress and ask that we consider it thorough regular order,” Jolly writes. “By putting your ideas in a bill form and forwarding it to Congress with a request that we consider it, the responsibility and accountability is then fully on us.”
Obama has taken several steps via executive action arguing that if Congress continues to block progress, he will use the power of his office to take action. Already Obama has raised the minimum wage for workers on federal contracts and a non-discrimination order for the long-term unemployed.
The 113th Congress has been the least productive in U.S. history and the incoming 114th Congress isn’t expected to be any better. Yet, Jolly vows in his letter to the president to urge his colleagues to consider Obama’s legislative proposal should he offer one.
“Should you send your specific proposal to Capitol Hill, you have my commitment that I will encourage my colleagues to immediately consider your proposal as legislation,” Jolly wrote. “We annually consider your budget proposal with an up or down vote by the Congress. We should be able to do the same with your proposal on immigration.”
So far, however, Obama’s budgets have been met with hostility by House Republicans who have used it to try to gut the president’s signature health care law and force massive spending cuts. The budget was held hostage by Congress long enough to force a government shutdown that lasted for 16 days last year. Regardless, Jolly tells the president, basically, that his plans for executive action are undemocratic.
“Going it alone will only deprive communities across the country the opportunity to have their voices heard through their elected representatives in Congress,” Jolly concludes.
Jolly’s diplomatic request is a far cry from the dramatic action suggested by House Speaker John Boehner whereby he said he plans to sue Obama over his use of executive action.
