U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., will step into the national spotlight this week as House Republicans push back at President Barack Obamas executive action on immigration while trying to avoid a government shutdown.
Reports emerged out of Washington that U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has agreed to let his caucus vote on Yohos proposal to prevent Obama from using an executive order to allow illegals a path to stay in the nation. When he unveiled his proposal in late November, Yoho insisted Obama was overstepping what the executive branch can do and hopes his Executive Amnesty Prevention Act" will cut Obama off at the pass.
In return for letting conservatives in the Republican caucus vote on Yohos bill, Boehner has set the stage to pass an omnibus appropriations bill funding most of the federal government until September 2015, avoiding a government shutdown. Boehner's plan funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which handles most immigration matters, until March through a continuing resolution. Conservatives might be able to defund Obamas immigration action early next year as the GOP takes control of the Senate in January.
Yoho talked to the New York Times on Tuesday and said he did not expect the Senate, currently in Democratic hands, to pass his measure. However, Yoho insisted his bill will help undermine Obamas efforts.
The simplest way this would work is, it will bring a stop to the action that the president wants, Yoho told the New York Times. He talks about how he has a pen and a phone. This will take the ink out of the pen.
When he introduced his bill in November, Yoho offered his take on what it did.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 gives Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, while Article II, Section 3 lays out clearly that the president shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, Yoho noted about the Constitution. With the go-it-alone approach of the president on immigration, I felt it necessary to introduce this bill and stop the president from going around Congress and the American people. An executive fix of the law is unconstitutional, temporary, and will establish a very dangerous precedent.
Lets be clear: Our immigration policy in America is broken and has been broken for a long time, Yoho added. Both Republicans and Democrats share responsibility for the current state of immigration in this country. That being said, now is not the time for the president to rule by fiat and go against the Constitution. Even the Washington Post, never a bastion of conservative reporting, has recommended the president not take this course of action.
Yes, the president has prosecutorial discretion in certain cases but that does not mean he has the authority to provide blanket amnesty or pardons to 5 million illegal aliens, Yoho said in conclusion. I, along with the American people, want to fix our broken immigration system. But this fix must come from well-thought-out legislation that puts the needs of the country first. Once that is done, we can have open and honest debate in Congress to hammer out our differences. This is the way the framers of our Constitution intended our laws to be made. It is time to stop kicking the immigration can down the road. Let us come together, put the country first, and fix the issue of illegal immigration once and for all.
While the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is not opposing Yohos bill, it does question the strategy.
With Democrats still controlling the Senate, this bill will be dead on arrival, FAIR insisted on Tuesday. Thus, the bill to fund the government will go through, but nothing will be done to stop the president's executive amnesty.
However, if Speaker Boehner can garner enough support from the rank-and-file for this approach, Congress will likely wait until March to act, FAIR added. Many who support the president's actions hope that the extra time will help quell public outrage at the president's actions that will shield 5 million illegal aliens from deportation, grant them work authorization, and make them eligible for numerous benefits.
Boehner and Yoho arent exactly political allies. During the 2012 Republican primary, Boehner helped then-U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., over Yoho and two other opponents. After beating Stearns in one of the biggest political upsets in recent Florida history, Yoho did not vote for Boehner to be House speaker.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
