Obama's Immigration Ploy Both Incompetent And Unconstitutional

It turns out President Barack Obama was right the first time when, in 2012, he explained why he could not change immigration law on his own: "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 federal appeals court has refused to lift an injunction against Obama’s executive action of last year, which ruled out deporting some four million undocumented people now in the U.S. and created a path for them to win legal status. Texas and 25 other states sued to halt what they called an effective "amnesty," saying the policy didn’t come with the usual public notice and comment period and unconstitutionally forced them to bear new costs in having to issue drivers licenses and other social services such as healthcare and education.

President Obama is now likely going to have to wait until mid-2017 before the Supreme Court delivers a final opinion — and one that many legal experts believe will go against him.

Hispanics and members of other immigrant groups have a right to be angry with Obama. First, he failed to tackle immigration in 2009 and 2010 when his party had overwhelming control of Congress. Then he allowed the problem to fester for several years, chose not to compromise with House Republicans and pass modest reforms first as a confidence-building measure, and then sprang his surprise executive action with almost no consultation.

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