Smith: Administration Puts Liberal Ideology Above Rule of Law

Smith: Administration Puts Liberal Ideology Above Rule of Law

Washington, D.C. – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano this week announced that gay partners will be considered as family members when immigration agents are trying to decide whether or not to try to deport an illegal immigrant from the U.S.  The directive means illegal immigrants in partnerships with American citizens could be spared deportation under the same leniency that is already often accorded to married couples.  This new directive may violate the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage at the federal level as the legal union between a man and a woman.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the Administration’s new directive in the statement below. 

Chairman Smith: “The Obama administration continues to put liberal ideology above the rule of law.  It has directed immigration officials to ignore the Defense of Marriage Act and treat gay individuals living together as if they were married.

“This is part of a pattern of behavior by an Administration that regularly chooses to ignore laws they don't like. But no President had the right to do that. It conflicts with their oath of office to enforce laws and abide by the Constitution. If the Administration doesn't like a law, they should wait until it’s changed, not ignore it. That’s called democracy. 

“The President has ignored other laws as well. The Obama administration specializes in ignoring our immigration laws.  Worksite enforcement has dropped 70% under this Administration, allowing illegal immigrants to compete with unemployed Americans for scarce jobs. And the Administration’s amnesty program allows potentially millions of illegal immigrants to apply for deferred action. This means the President is allowing illegal immigrants to live and work here without a vote of Congress. Administration officials have also weakened the work requirement in welfare reform and are letting schools ignore education reform mandates.

“By failing to enforce our laws, President Obama has violated his oath of office, undermined democracy, and put personal ideology ahead of the country’s best interests. The American people can do something about it in the next election.”