Dems praise Obama’s ‘courageous’ first steps

Democrats hailed President Obama’s move Thursday to halt deportations for millions of immigrants living in the country illegally. 

But the lawmakers were quick to frame the executive actions as merely the first step on a much longer path toward overhauling the immigration system, a move they say only Congress can take.

{mosads}”It’s bold, it’s courageous, it’s as good as it can be under the law,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “But that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t like to have a bill, and some of the provisions will have to take a little time to be implemented,” she quickly added. “So there’s plenty of time for the Republicans — in fact even two weeks when we come back [in December] — to pass an immigration bill.”

A wave of Democrats issued statements Thursday night echoing that message.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the incoming head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said Obama’s action is “a bold step in the right direction” but “not a permanent solution.” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said the changes mark “a turning point for the nation” but “are not all-encompassing.” And Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), Capitol Hill’s most vocal proponent of an immigration overhaul, praised Obama’s “courage” but quickly emphasized the need for a more permanent fix. 

“We all must recognize that no executive action is a substitute for legislation,” he said, “so the fundamental challenge of getting legislation through the Republican-controlled House remains the same.”

The Democrats’ strategy is clear: As much as they’re welcoming Obama’s actions with open arms, they also don’t want it to become an impediment — political or otherwise — to Congress’s efforts to enact a more permanent comprehensive reform law over the next two years.

The Senate had passed such a reform bill in June 2013 with broad bipartisan support, but House Republican leaders refused to consider it. Obama said his announcement this week is simply designed to help keep families together in the face of that congressional inaction, and he urged Congress to take the steps that would make his unilateral moves dispensable.

“The day I sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary,” Obama said during Thursday’s speech.

Such statements, however, have done nothing to appease Republicans, who are furious with what they consider an unconstitutional power grab by a president they say has habitually abused his executive power. 

Scores of Republicans issued statements Thursday night suggesting that Obama, by his action, just made it harder for lawmakers to reach a deal on broader reforms.

“By ignoring the will of the American people, President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement. “His ‘my way or the highway’ approach makes it harder to build the trust with the American people that is necessary to get things done on behalf of the country.” 

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), a former federal prosecutor, said Democrats’ argument that past presidents have taken similar actions simply doesn’t fly with GOP lawmakers.

“Attempts to undermine the law via executive fiat, regardless of motivation, are dangerous,” Gowdy said in a statement. “Whether previous administrations acted outside of constitutional boundaries is not license to do the same.”

Democrats, for their part, reject the notion that Obama’s actions reduce the odds that Congress can pass legislation. They’re quick to note that Boehner and the Republicans had the entirety of the 113th Congress to consider a bill before Obama acted Thursday but declined to do so.

“They are trying to poison the well by saying the president shouldn’t do this,” Pelosi said. 

“But the fact is that I think many of our [Republican] colleagues here understand that we have to do this.”