“I’m not the Emperor of the United States.”
“I’m not the emperor of the United States.” – President Obama
Thursday President Obama announced he would move forward on reforming immigration without congress. Meaning by executive order (signing an order/degree) he will bypass congress voting on new laws and instead issue them himself. Ironically, our nation is in the situation we are in because the executive branch of government (office of the President) refused to do its job, upholding the laws that are already on the books.
So on Friday, aboard Air Force One, Obama signed two new orders, which granted “deferred action” (delayed deportation and U.S. residency) to parents of United States citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for five years. In other words, instead of doing his job of enforcing existing laws, he decided to do Congress’ job by making new ones.
This action is confusing to many based on the President’s previous comments on this subject, stating that according to The Constitution congress must act, Obama said, “The problem is that, you know, I’m the president of the United States. I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed, and Congress right now has not changed what I consider to be a broken immigration system.” Obama went on to say, “We have certain obligations to enforce the laws that are in place, even if we think that in many cases the results may be tragic.”
Over 11 million people live in the United States illegally. The growing issue of illegal immigration has been hotly contested especially in light of the five million people waiting to come to the U.S. legally. Regardless of whether you agree with President Obama’s orders, the constitutional system – our democratic, republic representation was just trampled.
If this is the way the executive branch of government functions – our votes don’t matter. Instead, we become a nation of one opinion. We stifle public debate and discussion. And we rob the American people of their voice – their representation. This isn’t about a party – BOTH parties do this – its about our constitutional republic, defending Americans voices and our democracy. Regarding immigration, it doesn’t matter how we feel about the issue, what matters is that our government leaders operate within the framework of the constitution. #HeartBeatToday #WeCareBecauseWeKnow
