FAIR: President's Amnesty Would Undermine National Security
(January 21, 2015 — Washington, D.C.) — The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in response to President Obama’s claim in the State of the Union address that his executive amnesty plan would enhance national security:
“Last night, President Obama issued an explicit threat to veto a DHS Appropriations bill that would defund his amnesty plan demonstrating his willingness to hold the security of the nation hostage to his political goal of rewarding millions of illegal aliens. Last week, the House of Representatives approved a Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would defund an effort by the president to grant amnesty and work authorization to an estimated 5 million illegal aliens and shield nearly all others in the country illegally from removal.
“The House has approved a ‘clean’ DHS spending in that it provides the department with the money it needs to carry out its mandate to protect the security of the nation and the interests of the American people. What the president is asking for is a blank check to carry out his political agenda, at the expense of homeland security.
“At a time when the security threat posed by international terrorists is greater than at any time since 9/11, the Obama amnesty program would divert enormous resources and manpower to processing applications for deferred action instead of DHS’s primary mission of protecting the security of the American people.
“The president’s insistence pushing forward with an unlegislated plan to grant amnesty and work authorization to some 5 million illegal aliens is also glaringly inconsistent with the overall theme of his speech, which addressed the plight of America’s middle class. There are very few things the president could do that would be more damaging to American workers than implementing an unlegislated policy that grants as many as 5 million illegal aliens work authorization and the right to compete legally for any job in our economy.
“From the standpoint of homeland security and economic security, the president’s amnesty undermines the vital interests of the American people, as well as the integrity of our Constitution’s Separation of Powers doctrine. Congress must move forward with efforts to block its implementation.”