The legislation would be mostly symbolic because the Democratic-led Senate likely would ignore it. Also, any bill passed by both chambers, if objectionable to Obama, would be subject to his veto. But GOP leaders hope holding a vote will assuage Republicans furious about Obama’s action last month to shield some 4 million immigrants in this country illegally from deportation, and grant them work permits.
“We’re looking at a number of options in terms of how to address this. This is a serious breach of our Constitution,” Boehner told reporters. “It’s a serious threat to our system of government, and frankly we have limited options and limited ability to deal with it directly.”
He told reporters no decision had been made, but aides and lawmakers said that he indicated during a closed-door meeting with the rank and file earlier Tuesday that the vote on legislation to block Obama was the leading option. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., aims to block Obama from unilaterally allowing categories of unlawful immigrants to live and work here.
Party leaders hope to move on next week to voting on must-pass spending legislation to keep the government running. In the wake of their midterm election victories last month, Republican leaders are eager to show they can govern responsibly without risking disruption of government services. But Obama’s executive action and the resulting GOP fury have created complications.
There were immediate signs of opposition to Boehner’s plan from conservatives who have scuttled his past efforts to address the issue.
Several said Boehner’s approach didn’t go far enough. They said they would hold out for a spending bill that includes language explicitly blocking Obama’s actions from taking effect.
But GOP leaders fear that approach could scuttle the spending bill, resulting in an impasse that could lead to a shutdown.
As the GOP leadership considered strategy, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson defended Obama’s new immigration plans before a House committee where Republicans took turns denouncing them as an unconstitutional power grab that would incite a new rush of illegal immigration at the border.
“The president’s unilateral actions to bypass Congress undermine the Constitution and threaten our democracy,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “We will see a wave of illegal immigration because of the president’s actions.”
Johnson argued that the president had acted within his executive authority to temporarily defer deportations for certain immigrants who are not priorities for removal. The action applies mostly to people who have been in the country five years or more and have children who are citizens or legal residents.
“I’m fully comfortable that we have the legal authority to push forward these reforms,” Johnson said. “Deferred action is an inherent executive branch authority that can and should be used from time to time, and we’ve done so here.”
The spending measure the House will vote on next week will top $1 trillion and fund the day-to-day operations of Cabinet agencies through the Sept. 30 end of the 2015 fiscal year. The Department of Homeland Security — whose personnel implement Obama’s immigration orders — may be kept on a shorter leash and be funded only into early 2015 under a plan floated by Boehner. The idea would be to try to reverse Obama’s moves when revisiting its budget next year.
Johnson spoke out strongly against such a short-term spending measure for his department, saying it could prevent him from funding needed priorities including hiring protection for presidential candidates heading into the 2016 elections.
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