On Thursday, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) said a new plan by House leadership to allow a vote on a separate bill to address the president’s unilateral amnesty is not sufficient.
“The House border supplemental contains no language on executive action and is the only bill that would receive consideration in the Senate,” Sessions said. “The separate House measure on executive actions fails to place effective restrictions on the President’s ability to grant unlawful amnesty and work permits.”
Sessions urged opposition to both the Senate border bill and the House bills.
“With great concern, we as policy makers must face the reality that the President is openly planning to use executive actions to provide amnesty and work permits to millions without any lawful authority,” Sessions said in a statement. “The Congress has a duty to resist. Legislation currently pending in both chambers fails to meet this test and therefore must be opposed.”
Sessions’ recommendation comes after the House leadership on Wednesday evening decided to offer a vote on companion legislation concerning Obama’s potential executive actions to win over skeptical conservatives for its $659 million border bill. Those votes are planned for Thursday.
But as Breitbart News reported, the separate House measure contains differences from the original bill introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Sessions emphasized that his “position from the beginning has been that Congress should not pass any border bill which does not block funding for the President’s planned executive amnesty.”
“For Congress to successfully stand against the President’s nullification plans, it must adopt the language proposed by Senator Cruz,” Sessions said.
President Barack Obama has indicated that, via executive action, he may grant temporary work permits and amnesty to millions of more illegal immigrant adults after Congress goes on its August recess. Earlier in the week, Sessions said that each Member of Congress would face a time for choosing this week to prevent Obama from lawlessly nullifying federal immigration law.
“Our response now is of great import,” Sessions said Monday on the Senate floor, while emphasizing the detrimental impact Obama’s executive actions would have on American workers of all backgrounds. “It will define the scope of executive and congressional powers for years to come. If President Obama is not stopped in this action, and he exceeds his powers by attempting to execute such a massive amnesty contrary to law, the moral authority for any immigration henceforth will be eviscerated.”