Commentary

SEIU: Anti-Immigrant House Bills Must Be Defeated


WASHINGTON, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 12, 2014.  After debate on the floor of the House of Representatives about the ENFORCE Act (HR 4138) and the Faithful Execution of the Law Act (HR 3973) , Rocio Saenz, Executive Vice President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

“It seems that House Republicans are hell bent on proving just how much they are controlled by the anti-immigrant wing of their caucus. They have failed to do anything at all to fix our broken immigration system and instead of taking any action in that direction, they want the President, too, to be immobilized. They want to tie his hands, so that it’s even harder than it is now for him to make sense out of the mess Congress has created.

“These votes, like the one last year to force the President to deport individuals who were brought to the U.S. years ago as children, show just how radical and out of touch House Republicans are.

“The President is far from overreaching. He’s just doing his job. Under the Constitution, the executive branch is charged with figuring out how to implement the often inconsistent, ambiguous, and unfunded laws on the books, not Congress. Under the laws debated today, Congress would be like a backseat driver trying to grab the wheel.

“The fact is, the President should do more, not less, to make sure that our laws are enforced humanely and that our focus homeland security dollars are spent wisely, on people who mean to do us harm and serious criminals, not ordinary janitors and students. With more than 1,000 people being deported every day, families being ripped apart, seeking to limit the President’s authority is a farcical waste of time that Congress could spend considering immigration reform legislation.

“The bills being voted on today are outrageous and wrongheaded and should be defeated.”

Source: seiu.org

 


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