{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-responds-president%E2%80%99s-amnesty-plan", "Smith Responds to Presidents Amnesty Plan", "2014-11-20", "2014", "2014-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) today released the following statement regarding President Obama\u2019s planned executive orders to provide amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants without the consent of Congress:\n\u201cWe have already seen how the President\u2019s youth amnesty encouraged tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors to pour across the border.\u00a0 Providing amnesty to millions of additional undocumented immigrants will only encourage others to break our laws and make it more difficult to fix our broken immigration system.\u00a0\n\u201cWorse than the specific policy is the precedent President Obama continues to set by ignoring Congress and the will of the American people.\u00a0 Failing to perform his Constitutional duty to enforce laws undermines our system of government and reinforces the gridlock plaguing Washington.\u00a0 Solutions will require both sides to work through regular order to come to an agreement.\u201d\nBackground:\nPresident Obama has regularly admitted he does not have the authority to bypass the legislative process and change laws on his own.\u00a0 The Speaker\u2019s office has compiled a list of 22 times the President specifically said he could not ignore or create his own immigration law. \u00a0\u00a0\nDuring a 2010 speech to students at American University, the President explained why giving amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants would be \u201cunwise and unfair.\u201d\u00a0 In the President\u2019s own words:\n\u201cFor example, there are those in the immigrants\u2019 rights community who have argued passionately that we should simply provide those who are [here] illegally with legal status, or at least ignore the laws on the books and put an end to deportation until we have better laws.\u00a0 And often this argument is framed in moral terms:\u00a0 Why should we punish people who are just trying to earn a living?\u00a0\n\u201cI recognize the sense of compassion that drives this argument, but I believe such an indiscriminate approach would be both unwise and unfair.\u00a0 It would suggest to those thinking about coming here illegally that there will be no repercussions for such a decision.\u00a0 And this could lead to a surge in more illegal immigration.\u00a0 And it would also ignore the millions of people around the world who are waiting in line to come here legally.\u00a0\n\u201cUltimately, our nation, like all nations, has the right and obligation to control its borders and set laws for residency and citizenship.\u00a0 And no matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these laws should be held accountable.\u201d Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-comprehensive-immigration-reform.", 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": ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-responds-president%E2%80%99s-amnesty-plan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.006784848868847, "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"}