{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141207033455/http://brooks.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=25&itemid=1254", "Brooks: Courts Should Determine if Obama Right When He Denied Authority to Grant Executive Amnesty, Stating: \"That's Not How Our Constitution is Written\"", "2014-11-18", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Mo Brooks", "B001274", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 The media reports President Obama has plans to make \"changes to the immigration enforcement system\" that \"could offer legal documents to as many as five million immigrants in the country illegally.\"\n\n\tIn 2011, when open borders and amnesty groups pressed President Obama to grant executive amnesty, President Obama replied, \"Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting,\u00a0 ...\u00a0 not just on immigration reform, but that\u2019s not how \u2014 that\u2019s not how our system works. That\u2019s not how our democracy functions. That\u2019s not how our Constitution is written.\"\n\n\tAgain, in September 2011, President Obama stated that he lacked authority to unilaterally grant executive amnesty, \"This notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true.\u00a0 ...\u00a0 We are doing everything we can administratively. But the fact of the matter is, there are laws on the books that I have to enforce.\"\n\n\tIn response to President Obama\u2019s promised executive amnesty, Monday night Congressman Brooks introduced House Resolution 757 to authorize the House of Representatives to seek a declaratory judgment action in federal court to determine whether President Obama\u2019s amnesty executive order violates the Constitution and federal immigration law duties, and, if so, to obtain injunctive relief and a writ of mandamus to compel President Obama and the Executive Branch to obey immigration laws as passed by Congress, signed into law by presidents, and interpreted by federal judges.\n\n\tCongressman Brooks said, \"As his own words reflect, President Obama knows he lacks legal authority to grant executive amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.\u00a0 Yet, in response to special interest group pressures, President Obama says he will grant executive amnesty anyway.\u00a0 President Obama should be held to his own words and bound by the United States Constitution.\u00a0 Thankfully, our system of government grants courts the authority to resolve legal disputes.\u00a0 The federal courts are best suited to determine if Obama is exceeding his authority, and, if so, how to reverse it.\u00a0 Under America\u2019s Constitution, we elect presidents, not dictators or tyrants.\u00a0 Under our system of government, legal disputes of this nature are for the courts to decide.\u00a0 My resolution empowers the U.S. House of Representatives to do that.\"\n\n\tBrooks continued, \"Seeking judicial guidance is not partisan.\u00a0 It is not Republican nor Democrat.\u00a0 There is a bigger issue at stake.\u00a0 Can future Congresses, regardless of party, force a president, regardless of party, to adhere to his Constitutional duty to \u2018take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed?\u2019\u00a0 Can future Congresses force future presidents to obey federal law?\u00a0 The overarching issue in this litigation is the delicate balance of power that our nation\u2019s founders embodied in our Constitution.\u00a0 Embodied in that overarching issue is one question:\u00a0 Is America based on tyranny or democracy?\"\n\n\tBrooks concluded, \"I appreciate the support of my fellow Members of Congress in holding this Administration accountable. Although filed just last night, H.Res. 757 has already been cosponsored by Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-05), Congressman John Culberson (TX-07), Congressman Steve King (IA-04), Congressman Tom McClintock (CA-04), Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Congressman Michele Bachmann (MN-06), Congressman Steve Stockman (TX-36), and Congressman Lee Terry (NE-02).\"\n\n\tIn another attempt to block executive amnesty, last week Brooks joined more than 60 House Republicans last week in sending\u00a0a letter to the House Appropriations Committee, requesting they use FY 2015 appropriations legislation to preemptively bar fundsfrom being used to illegally grant amnesty and work permits to illegal aliens via executive orders.\n\n\t\u00a0\n\n\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141207033455/http://brooks.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=25&itemid=1254"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1580039281398058, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}