Finally! A federal judge finds Obama amnesty unconstitutional. Now what?

by LTC ALLEN WEST (US ARMY RET) December 18, 2014

obama hands up stop wrong

A federal judge in Pennsylvania just got hit by a Bravo-Foxtrot-Oscar (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) and I certainly hope it spreads across the country.

As reported by the Washington Times, "A federal judge has found parts of President Obama's new deportation amnesty to be unconstitutional, issuing a scathing memo Tuesday accusing him of usurping Congress's power to make laws, and dismantling most of the White House's legal reasoning for circumventing Congress."

"Judge Arthur J. Schwab, sitting in the western district of Pennsylvania, said presidents do have powers to use discretion in deciding how to enforce the law, but said Mr. Obama's new policy goes well beyond that, setting up a full system for granting legal protections to broad groups of individuals. He said Mr. Obama writing laws - a power that's reserved for Congress, not the president. "President Obama's unilateral legislative action violates the separation of powers provided for in the United States Constitution as well as the Take Care Clause, and therefore is unconstitutional," Judge Schwab wrote. The judge also said the policy allows illegal immigrants "to obtain substantive rights."

Boy, am I glad I took civics. We've said here on countless occasions that President Obama's unilateral executive action violated Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution. It is not the discretion of the president to make laws on immigration as that clause states only Congress can make rules or laws regarding matters of naturalization - a power enumerated solely to the legislative branch. And a read of Article II doesn't grant any "prosecutorial discretion" to the executive branch. The laws must be enforced and as Judge Schwab stated, perhaps there can be a debate as to the means by which the law will be enforced - but the president cannot make up his own laws.

Finally!

The Times says, "Mr. Obama's policy would allow up to 5 million illegal immigrants to apply for "deferred action," a proactive notice that they won't be deported, and would grant work permits to allow them to compete for jobs legally."

This is an incredibly huge overreach of his enumerated executive power - and being impatient or not wanting to "break up families" does not warrant his disregard of the law.

However, as the Times reports, "Judge Schwab's order does not invalidate the president's policies. But it serves as a warning shot as other direct challenges to the new amnesty begin to make their way through the courts."

And of course it does establish a judicial precedent on this topic - as well as others. So I suppose we should send a note to Gwyneth Paltrow that in a Constitutional Republic we don't just allow the president to do whatever he wants - that's called the rule of one, a dictatorship. 

Lt. Col (Retired) Allen West served 22 years in the US Army and represented Florida's 22nd Congressional District in the US House of Representatives from 2011-2013. To hear more from Col. West, visit www.allenbwest.com.



Read more: Family Security Matters http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/finally-a-federal-judge-finds-obama-amnesty-unconstitutional-now-what?f=must_reads#ixzz3MWAbQPun
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Replies

  • Now, do you really think Obama cares what the S. C. says
  • I hope this judge has his/her life insurance paid up to date. And I also hope he/she has room on the wall for a small "Thank You" note.

This reply was deleted.