Cassidy: President Does Not Have Authority to Grant Executive Amnesty

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voted to keep President Obama from overstepping his constitutional boundaries to grant executive amnesty. The Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act of 2014, H.R. 5759, reaffirms that the President does not have the authority to exempt whole categories of persons illegally present in the U.S. from removal or to defer that removal.  It also states that any executive action which disregards this is a violation of the law and has no legal effect. 

Dr. Cassidy recently joined his colleagues to urge House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rogers to include language in the continuing resolution that prohibits funding for the President's executive amnesty, specifically for green cards and work permits.  He also introduced a bill with Senator David Vitter bill to stop the increasing number of illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. 

Dr. Cassidy released the following statement:

"Louisiana families want the government to work together. President Obama would rather disregard these families, and Congress, to act alone. The President's decision to ignore our laws and grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants threatens our system of government. We must do what we can to stop the President from lawlessly granting amnesty."

The Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act of 2014:

Reaffirms the constitutional principles that only Congress has the power to write immigration laws and that the President must enforce those laws;

Prevents President Obama or any future president from exempting or deferring the removal of categories of illegal immigrants except to the extent that the president is relying on his Constitutional powers over foreign affairs or utilizing exceptions provided for in the bill for exceptional humanitarian and law enforcement circumstances;

Prevents President Obama or any future president from considering such illegal immigrants to be lawfully present in the United States (and thus ineligible for the rights and privileges available to lawfully present aliens);

Prevents President Obama or any future president from granting work authorization to such illegal immigrants; and takes effect as if enacted on November 20, 2014, thus nullifying the president’s recent executive action.