After the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the President executive actions on immigration, Arizona’s leaders had mixed reactions.
Rep. Matt Salmon stated:
“The President can’t make or amend law unilaterally. What is seemingly basic knowledge in any U.S. civics class has necessarily been explained to the administration twice by our judiciary, and it still hasn’t sunk in.”
“Yesterday’s ruling that the President cannot unilaterally rewrite the People’s considered opinion on our nation’s immigration policy is not only a win for the nation but also for the republican form of government our founders established. While President Obama remains dedicated to enforcing his will against the people, Congress and the states are valiantly defending the very right to self-determination we fought a revolution to secure. Today we can look toward another incremental victory to ensure our executive doesn’t become a modern-day monarchy.”
Rep. Raul Grijalva stated:
“This is the politicization of justice, pure and simple. Each additional day means more families torn apart, more kids turned away from the only country they’ve ever called home, and more missed opportunities for our society as we reject talented and hardworking people for no good reason at all. The next stage in the fight is with the Supreme Court, and I urge the justices to act swiftly and justly to protect the men, women and children that are counting on them.”
Rep. Paul Gosar stated:
“This decision makes it clear that no one…not even the President of the United States…is above the rule of law.”
Senator John McCain stated:
“I applaud the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision to block President Obama’s executive action on immigration. While many of us have worked to fix our broken immigration system, reform must begin in Congress with the support and confidence of the American people. The President’s attempt to expand his executive authority instead of working with Congress to secure our border and reform our broken immigration system will do nothing to protect the American people or provide relief to deserving immigrants. Regardless of whether the Supreme Court decides to hear this case, I am confident that this decision and other federal court rulings finding the President’s executive action unconstitutional will stand.”
Arizona State Representative Mark Finchem (LD-11) stated:
“I’m pleased that the Court seems to be focusing on actions that are “in pursuance of the Constitution”. Whether a policy is an executive order, an agency directive or even a Supreme Court opinion, Congress is the final author of “the law”, that is an exclusive preview of Congress.”
“The smuggling of men, women and children into our country is equivalent to modern-day slave trade. What’s outrageous is that the administration and the President know it and they are actually facilitating it.”
“Look for Arizona legislation this next session to hold the federal government accountable for properly passed law.”
Arizona State Representative Bob Thorpe (LD-6) stated:
“According to Article I, Section I of the United States Constitution, only Congress (the Legislative Branch), consisting of the U.S. House and Senate, can Legislate, or make law. It is unconstitutional, and thus illegal, for any other Branch of the Federal government to Legislate, including the President (the Executive Branch) and his agencies (i.e., the EPA or the Environmental Protection Agency, etc.) and the Courts (the Judicial Branch.) Also, Congress is limited to their Constitutionally Enumerated powers, so they cannot Legislate outside of their defined authority. Additionally, the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution states that laws must be enacted by the Congress of the United States and promulgated as prescribed by the Constitution, and made in pursuance thereof. ‘In pursuance thereof’ means that for Legislation enacted by Congress to be lawful and Supreme, it must be inline or consistent with the existing Constitution. If new powers or changes to the Constitution are desired, such as Obamacare, then two-thirds of either the Congress or the States must use Article V to propose a new amendment to the Constitution, and three-quarters of the states must ratify it before it becomes law. The Courts cannot Legislate. In his dissent in King v. Burwell (2015), Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote about the ‘…American people’s decision to give Congress [a]ll legislative Powers enumerated in the Constitution. They made Congress, not this Court, responsible for both making laws and mending them.’ As a former Constitutional university professor, President Obama is fully aware and thus knowingly culpable (guilty) of violating his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States each time he has attempted to Legislate outside of Congress, including his Executive Orders on Immigration and Obamacare, and his agency’s rulemaking, such as the EPA’s ‘Clean Power Plan’. ”