WASHINGTON, December 3 (Sputnik) – Republicans and Democrats in the US House of Representatives are still deeply divided over the legality and constitutionality of US President Barack Obama’s use of executive action to reform the US immigration system, according to the remarks of both parties representatives at a Tuesday House Judiciary Committee hearing.
“President Obama has clearly exceeded his constitutional authority,” Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, stated during a hearing on Obama’s executive action on immigration. “No president has so abused and misused the power of prosecutorial discretion as has President Obama.”
Goodlatte asserted that Obama is “acting lawlessly and assuming legislative power” with his executive action which will grant some eligible illegal immigrants immunity from deportation. “The Obama administration is driving full speed ahead to a constitutional crisis,” he argued.
"There is a great deal of evidence showing that the actions taken by Obama are well within his legal authority," said Ranking Member John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan.
“These actions are not only appropriate, but lawful,” stated Conyers.
Both Conyers and his Democratic colleague Hank Johnson accused Republicans in Congress of obstructing the legislative process by holding up legislation, talking about censuring the president, and even threatening to shut down the government.
Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson criticized the House of Representative’s inaction on immigration reform, calling the current Congress “the do-nothingest Congress in the history of mankind.”
“What this body is doing is actually wasting time when we could be passing comprehensive immigration reform, just like the Senate did almost two years ago,” stated Johnson.
The Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act in July 2013 to reform the US immigration system. The bill dealing with a range of issues has not been brought to a vote in the House.
Two weeks ago Obama announced executive action to provide up to five million illegal immigrants with the ability to apply for the right to temporarily stay in the United States without facing deportation. In public statements, Obama warned the Republican-controlled House that he would take unilateral action on immigration if they failed to implement comprehensive immigration reform.
