‘Illegal,’ ‘Dangerous,’ ‘Unconstitutional’ — Ala. Republicans unload after Obama’s amnesty speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wejt939QXko
(Video above: President Obama lays out his planned executive actions on immigration during a speech at the White House Nov. 20, 2014.)

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday evening delivered a speech describing the executive actions he plans to take on immigration, and it didn’t take long for Alabama’s Republican lawmakers to pounce.

Here are the most notable lines from a handful of Alabama’s top government officials:

Sen. Jeff Sessions:

President Obama’s executive amnesty violates the laws Congress has passed in order to create and implement laws Congress has refused to pass. The President is providing an estimated 5 million illegal immigrants with social security numbers, photo IDs and work permits—allowing them to now take jobs directly from struggling Americans during a time of record immigration, low wages, and high joblessness.

Sen. Richard Shelby:

President Obama’s plan to unilaterally grant amnesty to millions of individuals who have broken our nation’s immigration laws is unconstitutional and must not be tolerated. If the President truly believed that this approach was in the best interest of the American people, he would not have waited until after the election to make this long-anticipated announcement.

Congressman Bradley Byrne:

Of course this action will be difficult to defend; it raises serious legal questions and flies in the face of how our Founding Fathers intended our government to operate. We are a nation of laws, and there would never have been a right time for executive amnesty. In the elections earlier this month, the American people indicated they want the President to work with Congress to advance solutions, not act unilaterally through executive action.

Congressman Martha Roby

President Obama believes he is above the law — above our Constitution, and that he alone can rule this country. That’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous. And every American who believes in our way of life ought to be outraged.

Congressman Mike Rogers:

President Obama’s decision to essentially legalize up to five million illegal immigrants by Executive Order is nothing short of an unprecedented presidential overreach. This immigration crisis is of the president’s own making, and in signing this order, he has significantly escalated it further.

Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard

It’s no surprise that he opposes Voter ID because this executive order is simply his attempt to inject millions of new and undocumented Democrat voters into his failing party.

The Washington Post noted that exactly 84 words of President Obama’s 14-minute speech were devoted to explaining his plan.

Here’s the paragraph that at least somewhat describes what the President’s executive actions will entail:

If you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you’re willing to pay your fair share of taxes — you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. That’s what this deal is.

The President also claimed during his speech that the majority of Americans support his decision to “go it alone” on immigration, but a national poll released earlier this week did not support that claim. The NBC-Wall St. Journal poll revealed that only 38 percent of Americans support the president’s decision to unilaterally act on immigration, while 48 percent oppose.

The President’s speech on Thursday evening brought an end to months of speculation about what he would do on immigration, but it marks the beginning of what promises to be an intense standoff between the Republican-controlled Congress and the defiant White House.

(Video below: a supercut of all the times President Obama has said he did not have the legal authority to go around Congress to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.)