[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16454]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Holding) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, the issue is no longer whether Congress and 
the President can agree on immigration policy. The question is: Does a 
President have the power to alter our Nation's laws without passing new 
statutes?
  Throughout the history of this great country, since the time of our 
Founding Fathers, the answer to this question has been ``no.'' Yet 
President Obama struck a blow to the system of checks and balances that 
has been at the heart of our government and our Constitution for over 
200 years.
  The constitutionality of the President's actions are in question as 
the President has said time and time again that he does not have the 
constitutional authority to change our Nation's immigration laws on his 
own. From 2008 up to this August, at least 22 times the President has 
said that he couldn't ignore the laws on the books or create his own 
immigration laws.
  In 2011, the President said: ``America is a nation of laws, which 
means I, as the President, am obligated to enforce the law. I don't 
have a choice about that. That's part of my job.
  ``We've got three branches of government. Congress passes the law. 
The executive branch's job is to enforce and implement those laws. And 
then the judiciary has to interpret the laws. There are enough laws on 
the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to 
enforce our immigration system that for me to simply, through executive 
order, ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my 
appropriate role as President.''
  Very well spoken, President Obama, the constitutional scholar that he 
is.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the framework of our Nation's system of checks 
and balances. The Constitution is clear. It is clear that it is 
Congress' duty to write the laws, and it is the President's 
responsibility to enforce them.
  While law enforcement agencies do have the inherent power to exercise 
prosecutorial discretion, the authority as to whether to enforce or not 
enforce the law against particular individuals, this power must be used 
judiciously and isn't an invitation to violate or ignore a law in its 
entirety. By granting amnesty to 5 million illegal immigrants, this 
administration has crossed the line from any justifiable use of its 
executive authority to a failure to faithfully execute the laws.
  Mr. Speaker, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, whether you 
agree or disagree with the President's policy on illegal immigrants and 
immigration, you cannot agree with the President's actions. No one is 
vested with the power to be both President and legislator.

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