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President Obama's Immigration Policy Is Unconstitutional
Obama was threatened by Sen. Marco Rubio's bipartisan reform, so he undermined it
June 19, 2012
About Colin Hanna:
Colin Hanna is president of Let Freedom Ring, a conservative public policy non-profit organization.
President Obama's announcement last week of a substantial change in our national immigration policy without so much as a nod to Congress should be exposed as a stunning and unconstitutional arrogation of power, rather than a serious proposal to solve a persistent problem.
The announcement came as Sen. Marco Rubio was widely expected to propose a bill that could have constituted a real step toward common-sense reforms to our clearly dysfunctional immigration system. Such an initiative could have resulted in breaking the partisan stalemate on immigration. As some of the specifics of Rubio's plan began to circulate in the rumor mill, I suspect that the Obama political team learned about it and took pre-emptive action. In doing so, however, the president once again highlighted his duplicity: He speaks mournfully about partisan paralysis while making moves that ensure its continuation.
[See a collection of political cartoons on immigration.]
Senator Rubio's plan was being confidentially shopped around to build a bipartisan consensus that would have followed the proper constitutional process. Apparently threatened by that, the former constitutional law lecturer decided to bypass the Constitution in order to seize the political moment and thereby reduce the chances of making actual progress. I hope that the American public is insightful enough to see such a cynical act for what it is.
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