Ron DeSantis Comes Out Swinging Against Obama's Amnesty Plan

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., came out swinging on Monday against President Barack Obamas executive order granting amnesty to illegal immigrants.

Over the past few weeks, I have been working with my colleagues to craft a forceful response to President Obamas unconstitutional executive amnesty decree, DeSantis noted on Monday. Good news: we will be debating and voting on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill this week, as well as an amendment which will deny all funds for Obama to carry out his executive action. When a president exceeds his authority and usurps the constitutional power of Congress, the proper response is for Congress to use the power of the purse to check the executive branch.

I think it is also important to force every member of Congress to go on record about the negative consequences of Obamas edict, DeSantis continued. To this end, I have been working with my colleagues to offer amendments that target specific aspects of Obamas executive amnesty.

DeSantis proposed three amendments to push back against Obama on immigration:

1. Amendment to protect American workers. Issuing work permits to illegal immigrants, a key aspect of Obamas executive action, will harm U.S. workers because illegal immigrants are exempt from Obamacares employer mandate, which means businesses can hire them at a substantial discount (roughly $3,000 per employee) relative to an American. This is not acceptable.

2. Amendment to protect legal immigrants. When Obama issued his mini-amnesty decree in 2012 for those who claim to have illegally entered the United States as minors, the DHS devoted a lot of resources to administer the program, so much so that the wait times for legal immigrants skyrocketed. These wait times kept families apart, especially for those Americans seeking to bring a foreign spouse to the U.S. This is not acceptable. No legal immigrant who is abiding by the law should be disadvantaged due to Obamas executive decree benefiting illegal immigrants.

3. Amendment to protect the public safety. Memoranda issued in conjunction with Obamas executive amnesty announcement by DHS set out enforcement priorities regarding removal of individuals illegally in the country. Incredibly, DHS policy is to treat some convicted sex offenders and child molesters as a second-tier priority for removal. If someone is in the country illegally and gets convicted of a sex offense, especially an offense against children, how can DHS do anything other than immediately send him back to his home country? This recklessly puts the public safety at risk.

This is an important constitutional moment, DeSantis concluded. The people's house needs to support and defend the Constitution by standing up for the rule of law and the separation of powers.