Republicans look forward with some apprehension to President Obama’s threat to act unilaterally on immigration. Obama has already violated the clear letter of his own healthcare law in order to make it less painful to Americans during an election year, and he also tried to make two illegal executive appointments, only to be repudiated by a unanimous Supreme Court. There is little to suggest he will not follow through on this new threat.
Republicans will not find it easy to challenge his actions. It is often difficult to gain standing in court when an executive simply refuses to enforce the law. Impeachment would be an overreaction — and a politically damaging one for anyone who has bigger goals in mind, like seeing Obamacare repealed. And after last year’s drama, no one really wants another government shutdown.
Even so, it may be that a game of chicken with Obama over appropriations becomes necessary. Before engaging it, Republicans must first frame this issue for what it is.
There are, as Obama likes to say, many things that a president can do without Congress. But an official executive policy that essentially awards legal status to as many as 5 million illegal residents without a vote from Congress is another thing altogether. No, not every deportation is of equal priority, and Congress might even be willing to prevent some of them altogether. But Obama’s leaked proposal does not constitute a mere ordering of enforcement priorities — it is a brazen attempt by a president to usurp the legislative role of Congress prescribed in the Constitution.
Obama is only doing this now because he lacked the courage to deal with the issue in 2009, when Congress would have supported him. Before the 2012 election season was in full swing, Obama himself pointed out repeatedly that he does not possess the power to act alone to legalize millions of undocumented aliens. As he put it, “that’s not how our Constitution is written.” He was right then, but he has reversed course.
Republicans who tried to force the defunding of Obamacare last fall were criticized for attempting to exercise leverage they did not have. Just as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his allies lacked the numbers in 2013, Obama now lacks enough allies in Congress to demand with any credibility the exact immigration bill he wants.
To paraphrase Obama: He lost.
The voters have given Republicans much more leverage than they had in 2013, and they now possess the ability to starve any number of his priorities. Obama must now work with the other side if he wants an immigration bill. Collaboration is not something for which he has shown any aptitude, but there is always time to learn.
Republicans should approach this situation calmly, insisting he sign spending bills that for now guarantee the laws of the land are not ignored. Obama has his veto pen, but in the twilight of his presidency, he also has his legacy and all of his other priorities to consider.
