Yesterday, House Republicans voted to block the president’s executive actions by passing a bill that stated the president’s actions were “null and void and without legal effect.” President Obama has already indicated that he will veto any bill that would block his executive order without offering a viable legislative alternative to reform our immigration system.
Prior to the vote, the President asked Republicans to pass a just immigration bill instead of voting to strike down measures that will benefit millions. “Rather than deport students and separate families and make it hard for law enforcement to do its job, I just want the Congress to work with us to pass a commonsense law to fix that broken immigration system,” said President Obama.
Despite growing public support for the president’s actions that will shield up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation, Republicans in Congress have spent the bulk of their time denouncing the president’s actions. The most extreme factions of the Republican Party are still calling on leaders to impeach the President but many congressional GOP members acknowledge that their options to counter the president’s actions are limited until they craft an immigration bill of their own.
Democratic lawmakers and advocates are standing behind the president’s actions. Clarissa Martinez de Castro, Deputy Vice President of the National Council of La Raza’s Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation urged lawmakers to, “remember that this is not a fight between Republicans and the president.” Martinez continued, “They will be picking a fight with the millions of American families who will finally find some relief.”
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