Bill would make immigration executive action illegal

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) has introduced legislation to establish that the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to defer deportations of undocumented immigrants.

President Obama’s executive action is expected to affect as many as 5 million people in the U.S. illegally by expanding the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program and allowing parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents to apply for work permits.

{mosads}Yoho said his bill, H.R. 5759, would essentially nullify the executive action.

“An executive ‘fix’ of the law is unconstitutional, temporary, and will establish a very dangerous precedent,” Yoho said.

The Florida Republican argued that only Congress should be responsible for enacting broad changes to immigration law.

“I, along with the American people, want to fix our broken immigration system. But this fix must come from well thought-out legislation that puts the needs of the country first,” Yoho said.

Two other House Republicans introduced a bill to block Obama’s executive action. Reps. Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Diane Black (R-Tenn.) wrote a bill that would prohibit funding for delaying deportations and issuing work permits.