List of those who don’t believe president has constitutional authority to suspend deportations includes… Obama?

◼ Illegal Amnesty - National Review Editorial

Though apparently a little fuzzy on the subject of judicial review, President Barack Obama is supposed to be a constitutional scholar of some sort. On the subject of his decision yesterday to unilaterally enact sweeping changes to U.S. immigration policy on nothing but his own say-so, we would like to introduce Barack Obama to Barack Obama, who during a Univision interview just last year affirmed: “America is a nation of laws, which means I, as the president, am obligated to enforce the law. . . . There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president.” A little softness in the polls and one executive order later, the president has reversed himself...

◼ Here’s a transcript of that clip, which is from a 2011 Univision town hall: - Michelle Malkin

“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 — and I know that everybody here at Bell is studying hard so you know we’ve got three branches of government. Congress passes the laws. The Executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement the laws, and then the Judiciary has to interpret the laws. There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system, that for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president.”

◼ Iowa rep Steve King will file lawsuit over immigration announcement - CNN

"This is no longer a debate about immigration policy. The debate is now about the Constitution and the Rule of Law," the Iowa congressman said in a statement. "I am preparing to bring suit against the President and ask for a court to enjoin him from implementing his unconstitutional and unlawful policy."

◼ “President Obama’s attempt to go around Congress and the American people is at best unwise and possibly illegal” - The Hill

◼ Obama’s policy strategy: Ignore laws - Steve Friess/Politico

President Barack Obama returned Friday to a trusted tactic — satisfying his political allies by not doing something.
Conservatives were angry when Janet Napolitano announced the administration would stop deporting certain undocumented immigrants, but they should have seen it coming. On issue after issue — gay rights, drug enforcement, Internet gambling, school achievement standards — the administration has chosen to achieve its goals by a method best described as passive-aggressive.

Rather than pushing new laws through a divided Congress to enact his agenda, Obama is relying on federal agencies to ignore, or at least not defend, laws that some of his important supporters — like Hispanic voters and the gay community — don’t like.

◼ Obama immigration order: Does 'audacity of hope' mean unchecked presidential power? - Patrik Jonsson/Christian Science Monitor

“This isn’t about immigration but about constitutional order,” says Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative-leaning think tank. “One problem is that even Democrats in Congress now have no right to complain about future usurpations – they might as well all go home and have Napoleon run the country.”