More than three months ago, President Barack Obama took unprecedented executive action to grant amnesty to nearly five million illegal immigrants. As I’ve said before, I do not agree with the president’s executive actions on immigration, and I am outraged by his go-it-alone approach.
U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson
This Week in Washington
But the crisis threatening the future of our nation isn’t simply about illegal immigration; it is about defending the Constitution. One thing the Constitution makes clear – it’s Congress’ job to write our laws and the president’s job to enforce those laws. By bypassing Congress to unilaterally rewrite our immigration laws, President Obama is ignoring the will of the American people and putting the constitutional foundation of our nation at risk.
As your voice in Congress, I vowed to do everything in my power to uphold the rule of law and block these illegal amnesty policies. A federal judge in Texas stopped federal agencies from implementing the president’s illegal policies. This was encouraging and a major turning point in this critical debate, but it is only a temporary measure. Until the court’s decision is final, the president will continue to appeal the injunction to implement his illegal amnesty. A lengthy legal battle looms, which is why Congress must put a permanent halt on executive amnesty by defunding it immediately.
With my support, the House of Representatives passed a bill in January that bans funds from being used to carry out President Obama’s illegal amnesty while funding every lawful activity of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Unfortunately, after trying four times, Senate Republicans were unable to bring this critical bill forward because Democrats in the Senate believe it’s more important to grant illegal amnesty than protect American workers and bolster security. I’m disappointed, but I won’t sit back and let the President’s illegal action continue.
This is exactly why I voted last week against a short-term funding bill that does nothing to prevent President Obama’s illegal executive action. This measure fails to block the president’s amnesty and simply kicks the can further down the road, and I do not support it. It is incumbent upon us to uphold the Constitution by using the power of the purse to defund and rein in unlawful actions. I refuse to vote to embolden President Obama’s illegal actions and potentially set a dangerous precedent that this Congress – and future Congresses – will fund executive orders that trample established American laws.
Last week we also voted on a separate measure to convene a conference between the House and Senate to iron out our differences on a DHS funding bill, while also addressing President Obama’s illegal executive amnesty. While I agree this is the appropriate process created by our founders, I also understand that this is simply wishful thinking. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid obstructed the House-passed DHS funding bill for 6 weeks, and has sworn up and down to do the same this time around — this is as reckless as it is insulting. As Republicans continue to work towards bipartisan solutions, Senate Democrats continue to send a clear message: it’s President Obama’s way or no way.
Folks, I don’t work for the president or Republican leadership – I work for you. I came to Congress to help turn this country around by promoting commonsense, conservative solutions. While I can’t predict the outcome of this debate, I can assure you I’m not going to back down from the fight and will do everything in my power to block President Obama’s illegal amnesty. It is a matter of what’s right and wrong – we must ensure fairness for those who struggled to join our country legally while upholding our Constitution and respecting the will of the American people.
Richard Hudson, a Republican, represents the 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes a small part of Mecklenburg County and takes in all or parts of the counties of Cabarrus, Union, Randolph, Rowan, Davidson, Stanly, Anson, Montgomery, Richmond, Scotland and Robeson.
