One of America’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, said, “Power must never be trusted without a check,” and this week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to be the check on President Obama’s unlawful executive amnesty. In December, Congress set the groundwork to combat the president’s lawless actions and hold his administration accountable. I made a promise to you then that my colleagues and I would do everything in our power to stop his unconstitutional actions, and this week we kept our commitment.

For too long, President Obama has disregarded the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers by issuing hundreds of overreaching executive orders and memoranda including those directing the Department of Homeland Security to change the way immigration laws are enforced. This week I voted to defund all portions of the executive order that would pay for the president’s illegal amnesty. The bill passed the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate for consideration.

This bill preserves critical Homeland Security funding to fight the threats facing our nation, yet defunds the president’s overreach on immigration. It prohibits funding from being used on unlawful directives that allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States without deportation. The bill also prioritizes deportation of illegal aliens convicted of brutal crimes including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and child molestation. Additionally, it prohibits any federal benefits from being granted to those who are in the U.S. illegally as a result of the president’s unconstitutional actions.

This legislation goes beyond correcting the president’s unconstitutional actions; it prohibits him from future violations. This bill will block funding for any similar executive actions the president might issue at a later date.

President Obama said more than 20 times that amnesty was not an action he could push on his own, because it would violate the Constitution. Well, I am here to remind the president that he does not have the authority to make, change, or selectively enforce America’s laws. I will not stand idly by and watch the president shred the Constitution. This legislation is a major victory for Americans that reins in the president’s unlawful actions, but I am not done. I am going to stay vigilant in holding this president accountable and standing up for the America our Founding Fathers envisioned.

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