HOUSTON, Texas–This week President Barack Obama vowed to take matters into his own hands, and to act without Congress on immigration reform. The announcement has infuriated many residents and politicians who live in states on the U.S.-Mexico border. Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico said that by attempting to act unilaterally on immigration, Obama is “exploiting” the current crisis on the border, which involves thousands of foreign minors entering the U.S. illegally each day.
In a statement provided to Breitbart Texas, Pearce said, “President Obama is exploiting the humanitarian crisis at our southern border. This emergency does not give Obama an excuse to abuse his executive authority and circumvent Congress once again.”
He continued, “A president cannot act beyond his executive authority and decide law based on his own preferences. Time and again, Obama has proven he only answers to himself. Recent Supreme Court rulings prove that he is wrong.”
Pearce mentioned the financial toll that the border crisis has taken on U.S. taxpayers–so far, $2 billion has been allocated to accommodating the illegal immigrants.
In addition to the financial burden of the crisis, many migrants lose their lives on their way to the U.S. The trek north from Central America is incredibly dangerous and can be deadly–just last week, Breitbart Texas reported on unearthed mass graves containing immigrant bodies in South Texas. Some graves contained bags with only skulls, other bones, or decomposed body parts in them.
Ultimately, Pearce and his Republican colleagues blame the Obama Administration for encouraging more migrants to risk their lives by making the trip to the U.S. Instead of turning illegal immigrants away, federal agents currently give them taxpayer subsidized shelter, food, education, vocational training, recreation, and legal counsel.
On top of this, each week authorities are currently releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants onto U.S. soil. Many of the freed immigrants are told to show up in court at a later date and are then released and reunited with their family members in the U.S. Victor Manjarrez–a professor at the University of Texas El Paso, former Chief Patrol Agent of Tucson Sector, and former Chief Patrol Agent in El Paso Sector–told Breitbart Texas that the migrants are “scheduled for a hearing sometime in the future. They promise to show up then get released. They then [often] call up relatives in Central America and tell them they got released.”
It is easy to imagine that the release–coupled with the benefits while in custody–only further incentivizes more illegal immigration.
Congressman Pearce concluded, “The problem at our southern border is a tragedy, caused by the president’s own executive orders that gave false hope to children and their families. They are now suffering in crowded border facilities, with some women and children being processed as detainees in southern New Mexico. The President needs to continue to allow the democratic process to proceed.”
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.
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