Immigration Executive Action 2015: Boehner, GOP to Include Amendments to Stop Obama's Immigration Executive Action in Homeland Security Bill
Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, R-Ohio, reaffirmed the Republican Party's intentions to stop President Barack Obama's immigration executive actions and his use of "unilateral" action.
During a press conference with members of the GOP congressional leadership, Boehner said the House of Representatives is set to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while blocking Obama's plans following his Nov. 20, 2014, executive actions on immigration. As Latin Post reported, current funds for the DHS are set to expire on Feb. 27. The DHS include the major immigration agencies including the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which manage programs such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA).
"Our goal here is to fund the Department of Homeland Security," Boehner said on Tuesday morning.
"Our second goal is to stop the president's executive overreach. This is not the way our government is intended to work. The president said 22 times that he didn't have the authority to do what he eventually did. He knows the truth here and so do the American people, and our job is to listen to the American people and hold the president accountable."
Boehner reiterated the House's agenda during a meeting with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and bipartisan congressional leaders.
According to a readout from Boehner's office, "The Speaker made clear that the House would push forward in consideration of the Appropriations Committee's 2015 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, which takes a number of steps to bolster border security and law enforcement efforts. The bill will include amendments to stop the president's unilateral actions on immigration, and the speaker reminded the president that he himself had stated publicly many times in the past that he did not have the power to rewrite immigration law through executive action."
A different readout from the White House about the president's meeting with members of the congressional leadership does not acknowledge immigration but noted the need to fund the DHS "without delay."
"Speaker Boehner and Republican party efforts to roll back the President's executive order are nothing less than a declaration of war against Latino and immigrant families," Presente.org Executive Director Arturo Carmona said in a statement Latin Post received.
"We worked tirelessly for years to ensure that President Obama and the Democrats rolled back unprecedented deportation levels. Now, we will do everything within our power to stop bigoted Republican efforts to tear apart Latino families and deport Dreamers en masse. Republicans should think twice before going to war against Latino families," added Carmona.
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