DeSantis: President Has Acted Outside the Constitutional System and Violated the Public Trust

St. Augustine, FL – Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06) issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s announced plans to unilaterally expand deferred action for illegal immigrants:

"The President cannot change the law by fiat.  Obama's edict usurps the legislative power of Congress, damages our constitutional system, and creates a precedent that will likely lead to the further erosion of our liberty.

Would the same Founding Fathers who fought a revolution against George III have created a constitution that permitted the executive to legislate around Congress whenever Congress declined to bend to the executive's will?  President Obama has repeatedly acknowledged that the President can do no such thing, yet tonight he tossed aside his own understanding of our foundational document and has made himself a constitutional outlaw.

What about the voice of the American people?  They get no say in this matter even though they decisively repudiated the President's policies at the polls just a few weeks ago.  The President's illegal executive amnesty is bigger than the 1986 amnesty which was actually passed by Congress and signed by President Reagan.  Obama's arrogance and contempt for the people are breathtaking. 

And make no mistake, by issuing work permits to illegal immigrants, the President's edict will have serious policy consequences: it will fuel more illegal immigration, thereby exacerbating the problem, will further disadvantage legal immigrants and U.S. citizens seeking to utilize our immigration system in accordance with the laws of our land, and will put a downward pressure on the wages of American blue collar workers."