{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://barletta.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/barletta-statement-regarding-ruling-on-obama-executive-amnesty", "Barletta Statement Regarding Ruling on Obama Executive Amnesty", "2014-12-16", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Lou Barletta", "B001269", "barletta.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today issued a statement regarding a federal judge\u2019s ruling that parts of President Obama\u2019s executive action on amnesty for illegal immigrants are unconstitutional. \u00a0Pennsylvania U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Schwab wrote in an opinion related to a deportation case that the president\u2019s actions amounted to legislating from the Executive Branch and goes \u201cbeyond prosecutorial discretion\u201d in refusing to deport illegal immigrants.\u00a0 Barletta has maintained that the president\u2019s actions are a violation of the constitutional separation of powers and trespass on Congressional authority to make laws.\nBarletta\u2019s statement is as follows:\n\u201cThough this is the first of presumably many court rulings on the president\u2019s unilateral executive amnesty, it is encouraging to see a federal court agree with what I have been saying all along.\u00a0 It is clear that the president has overstepped his authority by creating new laws and granting sweeping amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the administration is already defending its unlawful actions by telling federal courts that they don\u2019t have the authority to block the amnesty plan because of the constitutional separation of powers.\u00a0 The irony could not be richer.\n\u201cI still support a federal lawsuit against the administration for their own violation of the separation of powers.\u00a0 I also will be working closely with House leadership on defunding the president\u2019s executive amnesty program once the new Congress, with the new Senate majority, is sworn in.\n\u201cWe have immigration laws in this country for two basic reasons: to protect national security and to preserve American jobs.\u00a0 The president\u2019s plan to grant amnesty and work permits to millions of illegal immigrants violates both of those principles.\u201d", 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/press-releases/barletta-statement-regarding-ruling-on-obama-executive-amnesty"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5198441687971354, "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"}