Statement by the Federation for American Immigration Reform Regarding Decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Texas v. U.S. Appeal
While failing to apply existing laws, the president also unilaterally initiated two massive amnesty programs that have resulted in a constitutional crisis further eroding our rule of law and fueling additional flows of illegal immigration.
—Dan Stein, President of FAIR
(January 19, 2016 — Washington, D.C.) — The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, regarding the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the Department of Justice’s appeal of a federal court’s injunction barring implementation of President Obama’s executive actions that would grant de facto amnesty and work authorization to an estimated 4.7 million illegal aliens:
“FAIR believes that the president’s actions clearly overstep his authority under the Constitution and we believe that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the states, which will be directly harmed if his executive actions on immigration are implemented.
“Since taking office, President Obama, without congressional approval, has quite literally shut down most of our nation’s immigration law enforcement. While failing to apply existing laws, the president also unilaterally initiated two massive amnesty programs that have resulted in a constitutional crisis further eroding our rule of law and fueling additional flows of illegal immigration.
“Along the way, Congress could have reasserted its plenary authority to regulate immigration by defunding the president’s activities yet time and again, it abrogated that responsibility. Instead a federal judge in Texas took the first step to rein in executive abuse and we believe his injunction will be upheld by the Supreme Court, as it was in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The outcome of this case will have far reaching constitutional implications. What is at stake is more than just the president’s efforts to allow millions of illegal immigrants to live and work in the United States. Rather, this case could determine whether the system of check and balances that our Founding Fathers deliberately built into our Constitution will remain intact, or whether the executive branch will be able to act at will to ignore laws passed by Congress and substitute its own policies in their place.”