Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-Salem, MO) issued the following statement on passage of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, which funds the Department of Homeland Security, while fully defunding the president’s unconstitutional executive amnesty:
“Today I voted to defund President Obama’s unconstitutional executive overreach, which granted amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. As a member of the House of Representatives, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I also made a promise that I would represent the interests of my constituents in Washington. Today I upheld both of those commitments. The president himself said 22 times that executive amnesty was outside of his authority, and the American people have overwhelmingly voiced their disapproval of his unilateral action. Today, the House acted as a constitutional check on the president’s actions and carried out the wishes of our constituents; both of which we were elected to do.”
In addition to funding the Department of Homeland Security, the bill defunds all of the president’s unlawful directives to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States without deportation; makes it a priority for DHS to deport illegal aliens convicted of brutal crimes including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and child molestation; prohibits any federal benefits from being granted to those here illegally as a result of the president’s unconstitutional actions; and blocks funding for any similar executive action the president might issue in the future.
