America’s elected officials are becoming less sheepish about their blatant disregard of the voters and the Constitution. This attitude is evident in the demand of Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) (left) that President Obama decree amnesty for illegal aliens through executive order, circumventing Congress and ignoring the will of the American people. The Hot Joints writes:
Liberal Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez gave a shrill speech [see video below] in which he demanded that Obama install immigration “reform” by executive order. He used the same old tired canards to describe why [we] must have “reform” now. He talked about kids coming home to find their illegal alien parents missing. He talked of neighborhoods being “terrorized” by ICE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGuvl6StjrU
During his impassioned speech, Gutierrez declared that the “system isn’t working” and accused the federal government of being insensitive to the four million American citizen children born to illegal alien parents:
“Does the federal government wake up and say, ‘let me see how I can get them better healthcare?’ Does the federal government wake up in the beginning of the day and say ‘how do I get them some better education? Better housing? No! The federal government wakes up each and every day and tries to figure out how to take their moms and dads away. That’s wrong and it needs to stop!”
Bemoaning the failure of the federal government to pass the DREAM Act, Gutierrez said, “We passed the DREAM Act in the House of Representatives 216 to 198; We actually passed it under normal circumstances in the Senate; We got 54 out of 100…And yet [the DREAM Act] is not the law of the land.”
Gutierrez’s solution is to circumvent Congress and achieve immigration reform by way of executive order:
Mr. President, it is good of you, it is great of you, and we appreciate when you speak so clearly and so eloquently about the rights of DREAM students here in this country. But now we say to you. If the Congress will not act, then use the powers you already have! Use the powers Congress has already granted you. Use the powers to use that discretion you already have and then you will not deport one more DREAM student from the United States of America!
According to Gutierrez, President Obama has stated that he cannot use an executive order to grant amnesty because it is unconstitutional for him to write laws. Gutierrez responds by asserting that the laws can and should be reinterpreted so as to prevent the continued deportation of illegal aliens.
Likewise, Gutierrez declared that the President is allotted a certain amount of discretion which allows him to make decisions that are not explicitly delegated in the Constitution, including that of sending 1,200 members of the National Guard to protect the border. Gutierrez proclaimed that the President should use his discretion “in benefit of our families, our children.”
Finally, Representative Gutierrez subtly implied that if the President did not succumb to their demands, he would lose their constituency:
"We’re here tonight to say to the man that we elected for President of the United States (yes, with our help, with our energy, with our commitment, we sent him to the White House), we want to remind him of the words he uttered to us in order to gain our votes, our confidence…Mr. President, it’s time you keep your promise!"
Gutierrez’s frustration directed at the Obama administration is rather confusing given the variety of attempts made by this administration to achieve backdoor amnesty, to include the attempted passage of the DREAM Act. For example, Californians for Population Stabilization reported in March:
Behind America’s back, Attorney General Eric Holder has met privately in his Capitol Hill office with his Utah counterpart Mark Shurtleff. The two are plotting a way for the federal government to circumvent the constitution and approve Utah’s amnesty bill, H.R. 116. Utah’s bill recently signed by Governor Gary Herbert would create a guest worker program for illegal immigrants, despite the fact that immigration and work status fall under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
Likewise, the Obama administration adamantly challenged the state of Arizona when it attempted to reclaim some of its own authority and handle its illegal immigration issues, even provoking the international community to rebuke the state.
However, because amnesty has yet to be achieved by the administration, Gutierrez and his supporters continue to make demands of the White House, even if those demands are against the will of the American people. Polls continue to indicate that the majority of Americans oppose amnesty. Numbers USA reports:
Americans overwhelmingly favor secure borders and tougher enforcement before the nation can even consider an amnesty. Recent polls reveal that 62% favor better control of the borders over amnesty and even 45% of liberals oppose amnesty.
A poll conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC show that liberals are concerned about rising population numbers due to increased immigration. The poll revealed that 45 percent of liberals oppose amnesty.
Gutierrez seems to believe that the opinions of non-citizens should outweigh those of the American people. Does he forget that the government is supposed to be "of the people, by the people, for the people?" The people have spoken.
