Yesterday, United States District Judge Andrew Hanen stalled Obama's executive order to shield young illegal immigrants from deportation if they were brought into the country at a sufficiently young age. The order also aimed to extend similar protection to the parents of legal U.S. citizens who have been in the country for some years. Despite having the support of 12 liberal states, the order is not supported by a large coalition of conservative states across the South and Midwest because they believe Obama violated the "Take Care Clause."
The “Take Care Clause” has been violated, they say, because it is supposed to limit the power of the president, but this executive action increases the president’s power since it would be extremely difficult to undo once immigrants started applying for deferred action. In Hanen's words, "The genie would be impossible to put back into the bottle." Without getting into the nit-picky details I believe this is a weak angle to take against the fine print of the "Take Care Clause,” and I am not alone in this sentiment.
The passing of this executive order will reunite millions of families who have been separated under our current immigration policies. Few pieces of policy have the potential to touch as many lives in such a tremendous way, and for this reason alone I believe it needs to pass. All children have a universal right to live with their parents, and it shocks me that Obama is the first president to take executive action to support it.
Moreover, the order will completely change the dynamic between law enforcement and suspected illegal immigrants. The Major Cities Chiefs Association and more than 20 police chiefs and sheriffs across the country also filed a motion in support of the executive action claiming that it would improve public safety by encouraging cooperation between police and potential illegal aliens. Police brutality has been well documented in the news as of late, and potential illegal aliens have always been especially susceptible to this abhorrent type of violence. Furthermore, it will also reduce document fraud, which is a common phenomenon among the illegal immigrant community.
Despite what this order will do on behalf of the American public interest, congressional Republicans have vowed to cut off the 39.7 billion dollar spending bill they passed for the Homeland Security Department should Obama's executive action come to fruition, and at the moment, the opposition is stronger than the support base. At this moment, the U.S. Attorney General and the Justice Department are reviewing the ruling of Hanen's lawsuit and plan to file an appeal. This appeal will ultimately be taken up by a higher court and possibly end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. Whether or not Obama's executive action passes, it still sets a new precedent for how far executive power can reach, and there could not be a more noble cause with which to test the limits of the "Take Care Clause."
