Obama Executive Actions on Immigration 'Violates' Constitution and Rule of Law, Says Rep. Steve King
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said President Barack Obama's potential executive action on immigration could result in the U.S. becoming a third-world country.
During a campaign stop in Iowa, and in the company of Donald Trump, King said the U.S. is a "great opportunity nation" because of the rule of law and the three pillars of the country -- the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government.
"We can't be that without the rule of law, and if you allow it to be eroded by the president of the United States, primarily by his party but not exclusively by his party, you see that opportunity in America diminish and you watch America become a third-world country," King said.
The Iowa representative said that there are "many reasons" to secure the U.S. border, but it has to be accomplished by the rule of law, adding, "But when you add to that the things that are coming at us from across the border, it will be 80 to 90 percent of the illegal drugs consumed in America, the unaccompanied alien juveniles that are coming in at the ages, 83 percent of them, 15, 16 and 17 years old -- prime gang recruitment age -- 80 percent male, from six of the most violent countries in the world south of Mexico. That's a threat to us."
King also said the threat of the Islamic State has been "interdicted" at the southern U.S. border with Mexico and the Ebola virus.
King was asked a question about Obama's leadership, and King, in response, said, "What is his vision for this country?"
"You must think now that he's president of the world, that he's going to treat people in Africa as if they were American citizens and somehow we can't define this American sovereignty or this American citizenship," King added.
In an interview, King said Obama is preparing the executive branch to deal with a large number of undocumented immigrants that the "president is preparing to welcome" into the U.S.
"[Obama] has promised us for months that he is going to violate the constitution and do this, and then when he found out that it was putting some of the Democrat U.S. Senate seats in jeopardy, then he decided to delay his lawless action until after the election," said King.
King has a record of opposition against Obama's executive action to address immigration. As Latin Post reported, he was confronted in August by two recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created by Obama's executive action, which exempted up to 500,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children from deportation.
GOP lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to end DACA. The legislation, which King supported, stated, "no agency or instrumentality of the Federal government" should issue "guidance, memorandums, regulations, policies, or other similar instruments" to expand the number of undocumented immigrants eligible for DACA.
Obama said he will issue an executive action on immigration between Election Day and the end of this year if comprehensive legislation reform is not passed by Congress.
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