Rep. Lamar Smith on Tuesday blasted the Obama administration for its apparent plans to try to circumvent a court ruling and implement its controversial immigration executive action.
“If this administration was half as determined to uphold immigration laws as it is to undermining them, our borders would be secure, sanctuary cities would cease to exist, and criminal immigrants would be deported instead of being released back into our neighborhoods,” Smith, R-Texas, said in a statement.
Smith was reacting to a published report of a leaked Department of Homeland Security memo that said officials were considering a way to defy a court order that has put President Obama’s immigration action on hold. The leaked DHS memo lays out details for how to override the judicial branch in order to implement the administration’s promised Deferred Actions for Parents of Americans initiative.
The plan was put on hold earlier this year after 26 states sued the federal government, arguing only Congress has authority to alter immigration policies, according to the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Smith added that the memo is evidence of the president’s indifference toward respecting due process.
“The American people cannot and will not tolerate this administration ignoring the rule of law. It is the only thing that protects the people and distinguishes our democracy from a dictatorship,” Smith wrote.
The issue is now with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will have to decide whether to grant the administration’s plea to reverse that injunction.
