Law Professor To Congress: Obama’s Failure To Enforce Immigration Law Is ‘Dereliction Of Duties'

A Vanderbilt University law professor told a House committee on Tuesday that President Barack Obama's failure to enforce federal immigration law is a "dereliction of duties" that puts Americans at risk.

“President Obama’s failure to enforce federal immigration laws raises the question of whether we are a nation of laws or a nation without the courage of its convictions,” Professor Carol Swain said in her opening remarks. “This dereliction of duties places our citizens at risk, and it damages our national sovereignty and standing in the world.”

The hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement focused on the impact of illegal immigration on American workers and unemployment in the United States.

“The failure to enforce immigration laws means that American citizens are unprotected from a massive influx of people of foreign-born persons who have entered the country without authorization and have openly stolen jobs, goods, and opportunities from law-abiding American citizens,” Dr. Swain said.

Instead of enforcing federal immigration law, the Obama administration is thwarting state and local efforts to do so, she testified.

“Not only is the current presidential administration not adequately enforcing immigration laws, it has used the power of the federal government to fight states and localities (that) have made good faith efforts to assist the federal government in performing its constitutional duties to protect the citizenry against domestic and foreign threats.”

Dr. Swain said an estimated 8 million illegal aliens are holding jobs in the U.S. labor market while 14 million Americans remain unemployed. Millions more Americans have given up looking for work, she added.

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