| NJ.com | - |
WASHINGTON
- U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said today that President Obama
did not exceed his powers when he granted a temporary reprieve against
deportation to millions of unauthorized immigrants.
Menendez says Obama did not overstep authority on immigration
Senator Robert Menendez appeared today on NBC's "Meet the Press." (Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media)
(Jonathan D. Salant)
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on November 23, 2014 at 12:15 PM, updated November 23, 2014 at 1:45 PM
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said today that President Obama did not exceed his powers when he granted a temporary reprieve against deportation to millions of unauthorized immigrants.
"Over 100 constitutional law professors had issued statements to the president before he acted that this was well within his authority," Menendez, who accompanied Obama to Las Vegas on Friday, said this morning on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"As a result of the president's actions, more felons will be deported, more border control will be at the southern border, more people will pay taxes and more families will be able to stay together," Menendez said. "Those are goals that are worthy of being achieved."
Several congressional Republicans have said Obama exceeded his constitutional authority as president when he issued an executive order that would affect about 4 million unauthorized immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. Those whose children are American citizens or legal residents and have lived in the U.S. for at least five years would be required to pass a background check and pay taxes in exchange for being allowed to remain in the country.
"After repeated admissions that the Constitution precludes him from granting amnesty, President Obama has chosen to cast aside his oath to uphold the supreme law of the land and is going to grant amnesty anyway," U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th Dist.) said Thursday. "No provision of the Constitution grants the president the power to change the law simply because the president disagrees with Congress. This sets a fatal precedent – is there no longer any limit to a president’s power?"
Menendez was part of a bipartisan group of eight senators, known as "The Gang of Eight," who drafted the immigration bill that passed the Senate last year, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has refused to bring the legislation up for a vote in his chamber.
"“They still have time to pass that bill and do the comprehensive nature that will strengthen our security, promote our economy, and preserve our history as a nation of immigrants. And so there's still clearly a persistent, urgent need to do that.”
Obama's order doesn't affect a majority of the estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., nor does it provide a path to citizenship for any of them.
Legislation is still needed but Republican resentment over Obama's actions may make it tougher to pass a bill, another member of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), said on the same program.
“The problem is the way he did it is going to make it very difficult to move the other parts of immigration reform that we really need,” Flake said. “So it's not that he did something that we wouldn't have done otherwise. It's the way he went about it.”
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
"Over 100 constitutional law professors had issued statements to the president before he acted that this was well within his authority," Menendez, who accompanied Obama to Las Vegas on Friday, said this morning on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"As a result of the president's actions, more felons will be deported, more border control will be at the southern border, more people will pay taxes and more families will be able to stay together," Menendez said. "Those are goals that are worthy of being achieved."
Several congressional Republicans have said Obama exceeded his constitutional authority as president when he issued an executive order that would affect about 4 million unauthorized immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. Those whose children are American citizens or legal residents and have lived in the U.S. for at least five years would be required to pass a background check and pay taxes in exchange for being allowed to remain in the country.
"After repeated admissions that the Constitution precludes him from granting amnesty, President Obama has chosen to cast aside his oath to uphold the supreme law of the land and is going to grant amnesty anyway," U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th Dist.) said Thursday. "No provision of the Constitution grants the president the power to change the law simply because the president disagrees with Congress. This sets a fatal precedent – is there no longer any limit to a president’s power?"
Menendez was part of a bipartisan group of eight senators, known as "The Gang of Eight," who drafted the immigration bill that passed the Senate last year, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has refused to bring the legislation up for a vote in his chamber.
"“They still have time to pass that bill and do the comprehensive nature that will strengthen our security, promote our economy, and preserve our history as a nation of immigrants. And so there's still clearly a persistent, urgent need to do that.”
Obama's order doesn't affect a majority of the estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., nor does it provide a path to citizenship for any of them.
Legislation is still needed but Republican resentment over Obama's actions may make it tougher to pass a bill, another member of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), said on the same program.
“The problem is the way he did it is going to make it very difficult to move the other parts of immigration reform that we really need,” Flake said. “So it's not that he did something that we wouldn't have done otherwise. It's the way he went about it.”
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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