The Florida Republican congressman who challenged John Boehner in the race for Speaker of the House earlier this year is praising a federal judge for halting the Obama administration’s unilateral plan to grant legal status to at least five million people in the U.S. illegally.
Rep. Ted Yoho is also praising Speaker Boehner for insisting that the U.S. Senate act on a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that refuses to fund the the legalization plan that critics call illegal and unconstitutional.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge John Hanen ordered a halt to the implementation of Obama’s policy of granting legal status and work permits to illegal immigrants who have children living in the U.S. legally.
Hanen said the case brought by 26 states raised significant constitutional issues that must be resolved before allowing the program to go forward. The judge said there must be a pause because if the administration loses this case at a higher court or else, “this genie would be impossible to put back in the bottle.”
Yoho, who sponsored a House bill in December to declare Obama’s actions illegal, is thrilled with Hanen’s ruling.
“Judge Hanen absolutely did the correct thing, for the rule of law and for our nation,” said Yoho. “Once you let the toothpaste out of the tube or the genie out of the bottle, you can’t get it back in there. This is wrong for America. This is not the way to fix immigration. This is going to make the situation that we have in this country with 10-11 million people here illegally, it’ll make it worse.”
The Obama administration agreed to halt the legalization program pending further court action, but insists it has the winning legal argument.
“The law is on our side and history is on our side,” said Obama earlier this week, saying legal precedent shows the executive branch has the power to exercise prosecutorial discretion.
Yoho says the law is actually very clear and it’s not on Obama’s side.
“He is absolutely 100 percent wrong. I’ve got lawyers and briefings and court cases where he can’t do that because what he has done by saying he has the legal authority, he’s rewritten the law,” said Yoho. Prosecutorial discretion was on an individual basis. What’s he’s doing is categorically taking a group of five million people here and applying it to the whole group. You can’t do that on an individual basis.”
The congressman alleges this is just the latest example of the president trying to work around the law to enact his political agenda.
“This president and this administration have created the global policy of unenforcement, meaning that if you get to America , you’re going to get a work permit. And you’re going to get free housing, free education, free health. If we want to solve this problem, we’ve got to stop illegal action and overreaching the boundaries of the Constitution,” said Yoho.
Yoho thinks the case will get fast-tracked through the federal court system but it will ultimately be decided by the highest court in the land.
“I think you’re going to see the Fifth [Circuit] work rather quickly on this. I think you’ll see them rule in our favor or they’ll go along with the injunction and defer to the Supreme Court,” said Yoho.
Hanen’s decision comes at a critical time in the congressional fight over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). That funding runs out at the end of this month.
Last month, the House of Representatives fully funded DHS at current levels through September, with the exception of defunding Obama’s unilateral program. The GOP Senate majority has tried to move forward on the same bill but has failed because all Democrats are united in filibustering the removal of that immigration funding.
Yoho says the courts putting the brakes on the program should remove any remaining opposition to the Republican version of the bill.
You can’t move forward with something that is deemed illegal by the court system. To move forward would be reckless and irresponsible. The common sense thing would be to say, ‘You know what? Let’s fund DHS. Let’s not put our country’s security in jeopardy or the people fighting to protect our borders, like the Coast Guard or our border securities. Let’s not put them in jeopardy. Let’s fund this bill and let’s have this discussion on another date once the courts decide,” said Yoho.
Democrats are insisting on a “clean” extension of DHS funding, which has included money for the legalization program since passage of the “cromnibus” bill in December. Speaker Boehner stated earlier this week that the House passed a bill and it’s now incumbent upon the Senate, especially Senate Democrats, to pass a funding bill.
Yoho is very pleased to see Boehner drawing a line in the sand.
“I’m proud of Mr. Boehner for standing up and staying strong on this. You know I’ve been a vocal critic of his, but if he’s willing to do this I think he’s on the right path,” said Yoho, who agrees that the onus is now on Senate Democrats to act responsibly.
“Those people that decide to vote against us are voting on the side of going against our Constitution and voting for the 10-11 million people here illegally versus voting for what’s best for America, not as a Republican or a Democrat but as an American. I think you’ll see them come around and do what’s right,” said Yoho.
Even if the GOP plan were to clear the Senate, an Obama veto is waiting at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Yoho says getting it to Obama’s desk would be a huge step forward.
“Let [Senate Democrats] help us push this bill and then send it to the president. Then this president will have to decide if he’s going to side on the side of the people here illegally or if he’s going to side on the side of national security and the American people,” said Yoho.
But the congressman says Republican lawmakers will need help from more than just a half dozen Senate Democrats. He says the public has a huge role to play in putting pressure on Congress.
“This is something all Americans need to get up and get rallied behind,” said Yoho.
