WASHINGTON – Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) released the following statement today in response to news reports of President Obama’s plans to enact immigration measures by executive order:

Congressman Smith: “This executive order would be a violation of the president’s oath of office and a blatant abuse of power. The president has sworn an oath of office to uphold the law but now he is planning to re-write them on his own. The Constitution specifically gives Congress – not the president – the power to make immigration laws. The president himself has repeatedly said he does not have the power to re-write immigration laws.

“These actions would be a direct hit on American workers and their families. Many Americans are underemployed and are struggling to find full-time, good-paying jobs. By giving work permits to millions of illegal immigrants, the president would put them above the needs of millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans.”

On March 28, 2011, President Obama said, “With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed . . . .  [F]or me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform to my appropriate role as President.” 

On July 25, 2011, President Obama stated, “I swore an oath to uphold the laws on the books . . . .  I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the (immigration) laws on my own . . . .  But that’s not how – that’s not how our system works.  That’s not how our democracy functions.  That’s not how our Constitution is written.”

On September 28, 2011, during a White House forum on Hispanic issues, President Obama claimed, “[T]his notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true . . . .  But the fact of the matter is there are laws on the books that I have to enforce . . . .  [T]he notion that somehow, by myself, I can go and do these things.  It’s just not true.”

On November 25, 2013, President Obama responded to individuals who called on him to stop deportations of illegal immigrants by saying, “[I]f, in fact, I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so.  But we’re also a nation of laws.”