Menendez: Obama’s actions ‘absolutely’ constitutional

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on Sunday defended President Obama’s immigration executive orders, saying that the orders were constitutional.

{mosads}”Absolutely,” Menendez said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” when asked if the policies were constitutional.

Democrats have offered a staunch defense against Republican criticism that the executive actions are unconstitutional.

The president announced policies last week that instruct authorities to only target deportation efforts to undocumented workers with criminal records.

The policies will impact an estimated 5 million undocumented workers, allowing them to apply for delayed deportation.

Menendez called on Congress to still pass bipartisan immigration reform, saying “there’s still clearly a persistent, urgent need to do that.”

“They still have time to pass that bill,” Menendez said of House action during the lame-duck Congress on the Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill.