{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/opinion-editorials/from-yes-we-can-to-because-i-want-to", "From Yes we can to Because I want to", "2014-12-01", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Lou Barletta", "B001269", "barletta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Barely 48 hours after President Barack Obama unilaterally granted amnesty to 5 million illegal immigrants, \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d satirized the move in a remake of an old \u201cSchoolhouse Rock\u201d educational cartoon.\u00a0\nIn the sketch, Obama repeatedly shoved legislation (\u201cBill\u201d) down the steps of the Capitol, displaying his contempt for the legislative process. Regrettably, the comedy writers at NBC have a better grasp on how a bill becomes a law under the U.S. Constitution than does the president of the United States.\u00a0\nViewers could be forgiven for barely recognizing the president who previously shouted \u201cYes we can!\u201d to adoring crowds, but now says \u201cBecause I want to\u201d when explaining his actions.\nThe president\u2019s executive action directly usurps congressional authority for making laws and continues his habit of governing by fiat rather than through the legislative process. To that point, the president himself has emphatically agreed by stating more than 20 times that he did not have the legal authority to single-handedly rewrite immigration law in exactly the manner he now has done.\nThrough many public displays of hand-wringing, he complained that Congress had failed to send him legislation to his liking, but that his options were limited by the confines of the Constitution. Once the final mid-term elections of his presidency were behind him, however, he somehow discovered a new, previously undiscovered path to the unilateral power he once lamented he lacked.\nIn perhaps his most sweeping claim of authority, the president hides behind the concept of prosecutorial discretion in refusing to deport entire classes of people who are illegally present in this country. This is a flagrant abuse of this unique power, which ought to be employed on a case-by-case basis and not deployed as an across-the-board policy.\nIn addition, the administration is granting work permits to millions of illegal immigrants in a program contrary to the laws established by Congress. In this, the president is in violation of the \u201cTake Care Clause\u201d of the Constitution \u2014 Article II, Section 3 \u2014 which compels him to \u201ctake care that the laws be faithfully executed.\u201d\nEqually suspect is the president\u2019s assertion that his hand was forced by the inaction of Congress. This is false on its face, as the House has indeed acted by repeatedly rejecting many proposals similar to what the president has now done on his own.\nIn any event, the Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, expressly grants the legislature the sole authority to establish rules for naturalization. If the president is so frustrated by a legislature not willing to cede to his wishes, perhaps he should have taken advantage of the first two years of his presidency when his party controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress.\u00a0\nIn the days leading up to his announcement, Obama\u2019s supporters claimed that the looming executive maneuver was nearly identical to previous actions taken by presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Such an obvious diversion ignores the fact that under those presidents there was already an underlying law that indicated the intent and will of the legislature. Any executive action was taken within that framework.\nIn Obama\u2019s case, he has acted entirely without Congressional approval. He demanded legislation be sent to him to his exact specifications, and when he didn\u2019t receive it, enacted his own policies by edict. That is not the way our system works. (Most telling, perhaps, is that the same people who argued that the president\u2019s plan was routine executive behavior are now describing it as bold and historic. Both claims cannot be true.)\u00a0\nThough the president has done damage to the Constitution and the rule of law, he has also exposed the nation to tangible harm as a result of his policies. His prediction that his amnesty will only cover 5 million illegal immigrants is laughably short, as history clearly demonstrates.\nIn the 1986 amnesty under Reagan, Americans were assured that there would only be 1.5 million people covered, but it turned out to be more than double that number once it was all finished, and the border was never secured as promised. There is no telling how many more people will be drawn to this country because of the renewed Obama promise of amnesty.\nBy granting work authorization to so many more people, the president has dramatically increased the competition for jobs that were already scarce. Millions of legal workers woke up this morning unable to find employment, and the amnesty program has dimmed their prospects even further. Low-income populations will be hit the hardest, which ought to come as a shock to those who heard the president promise hope for the struggling masses.\nStrictly by the numbers, the amnesty program is a dismal failure: counting the 5 million covered under amnesty, and the 1.5 million people awarded work permits in 2013, the president has now created more new workers over the last year (6.5 million) than jobs since he took office (less than 6 million). Hope and change, indeed.\nIt will be impossible for the federal government to conduct adequate background checks on the 5 million receiving amnesty, which represents a serious threat to public safety and national security. We already know that in 2013 the administration released 36,000 criminal illegal aliens from custody, including 116 convicted of homicide, 43 convicted of voluntary manslaughter, and one convicted of something called \u201chomicide-willful kill-public official-gun.\u201d At a time when we know that terrorists are plotting to attack us here at home, to flood the system with people with untraceable backgrounds is irresponsible and threatens our safety.\nWith the case against President Obama\u2019s amnesty clearly stated, many are asking what can be done to stop it. Congress has the power of the purse and must stand ready to use it. I have already called for the blocking of funding of the identification cards that would be supplied to those taking advantage of the president\u2019s action. If it were crafted in the appropriate way, it would specifically pinpoint the amnesty-related expenditure while allowing all other functions of government to proceed.\nTo further oppose the president\u2019s amnesty program, I have authored legislation, the Defense of Legal Workers Act, which will prohibit the government from issuing work permits to anyone who receives amnesty through executive action.\u00a0\nIt is most unfortunate that we have come to this as Americans, but we are left with little choice by a president who ran on the slogan of \u201cYes we can!\u201d but governs by the philosophy of \u201cBecause I want to.\u201d\nRep. Lou Barletta, a Republican, represents Pennsylvania\u2019s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.", 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://barletta.house.gov//media-center/opinion-editorials/from-yes-we-can-to-because-i-want-to"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6442909836769104, "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"}