House Representatives Smith and King: the Heavyweights in America’s Ongoing Battle Against Obama’s Immigration Duplicity

House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith has questions for Immigration Customs and Enforcement director John Morton and therefore by extension also for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and President Barack Obama. Rep. Steve King, irate over the same abuse of immigration law that spurred Smith into action, insists that his pending lawsuit against Obama regarding the president’s executive order/DREAM Act amnesty will be filed within a couple of weeks.

First, a hat tip to Smith and King,  two of only a small handful of voices from a Republican-controlled House that aren’t content to let Obama run ramshod over the Constitution and the American people’s will on immigration.

Obama’s amnesty fiat is being sold as a touchy-feely program for aliens age 16-30 brought to the United States years ago as unsuspecting infants. Not surprisingly, Smith’s close examination of Obama’s decree indicates that many more aliens could qualify for the amnesty plan than the White House’s projected 800,000. Estimates range up to 2 million aliens could qualify and be given work authorization.

In his letter to Morton (read it here), Smith posed 32 questions. Noting that amnesty has already been quietly granted to some, Smith wants to know, among other things, what documentation DHS will require, who will be conducting the interviews, what qualifies as “education” and what safeguards are in place to prevent fraud. Smith’s fundamental queries might have been addressed had there been the usual Congressional hearings. Given Obama’s unwillingness to cooperate with Congressional Republicans on immigration, a White House response—or even an acknowledgement —to Smith is improbable.

King, for his part, is pressing ahead. In an interview with the Daily Caller, King estimated that his lawsuit is “weeks rather than months” away. In recent days King, the likely lead plaintiff,  has hosted meetings with other key parties including one U.S. Senator, four state executives offices and five non-governmental organizations.  King said that there are at least four possible legal components to his action including seeking a  writ of mandamus that would order Obama to enforce the law. [Iowa Congressman Expects Lawsuit against Obama in ‘Weeks,’ by Alex Pappas, Daily Caller, July 16, 2012]

CAPS has issued two action alerts on how to combat Obama’s amnesty via executive order. The first supports two separate bills have been introduced into the House of Representatives to overturn Obama’s order implementing much of the DREAM Act amnesty. HR 5957, by Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), and HR5953, by Rep. Ben Quayle (R-AZ), would block the Secretary of Homeland Security from deferring deportations or from limiting the enforcement of our immigration laws. Go to the alert here.

The second alert urges members to express displease directly to President Obama as well as to Congressional representatives by phone, FAX or email. See it here.

On and on goes the never ending fight for what should be the simple goal of having the United States president enforce the laws he swore to uphold.