The Republican-led US House of Representatives is moving forward with an effort to block President Obama’s illegal immigration move, as Fox News reports. A full press release from Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT) is below. All this, as Rep. Zinke says the “porous” southern border represents a direct threat to US national security.
FoxNews.com: House moves toward vote on blocking immigration actions, White House threatens veto
The Republican-controlled House is charging ahead with a bid to block President Obama’s immigration executive actions, as congressional Democrats decry the effort as folly and the White House threatens a veto.
Following a White House meeting with Obama and other congressional leaders Tuesday morning, Boehner’s office reiterated that the House would still push forward on the DHS bill, including amendments to “stop the president’s unilateral actions on immigration.” His office said, during the meeting, Boehner “reminded the president that he himself had stated publicly many times in the past that he did not have the power to rewrite immigration law through executive action.”
Breitbart.com- Rep. Ryan Zinke: Porous Southern Border ‘Direct Threat’ to National Security
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), the former Navy SEAL and newly-elected Member of Congress, believes the Southern border is now a “nexus between immigration and our national security” and a “direct threat” to America’s national security.
“It’s not about Hispanics or South Americans,” he said on Breitbart News Saturday, citing a Breitbart Texas report that found that illegal immigrants from at least 168 countries were apprehended at the Southern border last year. “It’s not about immigration alone. It’s about national security… if children can walk across our southern border without consequences, what makes this administration think that ISIS can’t with weapons of mass destruction?”
FULL PRESS RELEASE FROM ZINKE’S OFFICE FOLLOWING TUESDAY VOTES (Individual vote tallies have not yet been independently verified)
Zinke Moves Forward to Defund President Obama’s
Unconstitutional Executive Amnesty Actions
(WASHINGTON) January 13, 2015 – Today, Congressman Ryan Zinke (MT-00) voted to move forward with a plan to defund President Obama’s unconstitutional executive amnesty actions. Zinke supports amendments to the 2015 FY Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill which will completely defund President Obama’s illegal actions, end DACA and deferred action, and expedite the deportation of domestic violence perpetrators and sex offenders. Congress is expected to vote on the entire appropriations bill later this week.
The following statement is from Rep. Ryan Zinke.
“As a former Navy SEAL Commander and State Senator, I took the oath to defend the Constitution against enemies both foreign and domestic. My first duty as Montana’s Congressman is to uphold my oath to defend the Constitution but right now the President’s unconstitutional executive amnesty, coupled with his complete disregard for the chaos going on at the southern border, is a direct assault on the Constitution and a direct threat to national security.
“This isn’t about our neighbors to the south. The southern border has become a nexus for national security and immigration. A recent report by U.S. Customs and Border Protection found that people from 75 countries illegally crossed the border between the U.S. and Mexico from countries like China, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia and Egypt.
“Thousands of unattended children are crossing the border— if children can walk across our southern border without consequences, what makes this administration think that ISIS can’t cross with weapons of mass destruction? We know that ISIS now has access to weapons of mass destruction including chemical weapons and various transportation methods. It should be the Administration’s top priority to shut the border down and protect our nation and our people. America built the Panama Canal in the 19th century; surely we can build a fence in the 21st.”
Amendments offered to FY2015 DHS Appropriations Bill
Amendment offered by Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), and Lou Bartletta (R-Pa.):
· The amendment prevents any funds – whether they are appropriated funds or user fees collected by the agency – to be used to carry-out the executive actions announced on November 20, 2014 to grant deferred action to an estimated four million unlawful immigrants.
· The amendment also defunds the Obama Administration’s so-called prosecutorial discretion memos that have gutted immigration enforcement within the United States.
· Additionally, it also declares that no funds may be used to carry-out any substantially similar policies to those defunded.
· The amendment makes clear that the defunded programs have no statutory or constitutional basis and therefore have no legal effect.
· The amendment also defunds the ability of aliens to receive any Federal benefits based on these policies.
Amendment offered by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.): The amendment provides that no funds – whether they are appropriated funds or user fees collected by the agency – may be used to consider new, renewal or previously denied DACA applications.
Amendment offered by Reps. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and Martha Roby (R-Ala.): This amendment ensures that sex offenders and domestic violence perpetrators are priorities for removal by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Amendment offered by Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.): This amendment expresses the sense of Congress that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services should stop putting the interests of unlawful immigrants ahead of legal immigrants. Under the President’s deferred action programs, legal immigrants playing by the rules and seeking to come to the United States the right way have paid the price for President Obama’s executive actions. They’ve faced longer wait times, even though they have paid the fees to have their applications processed.
Amendment offered by Reps. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) and Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.): This amendment expresses the sense of Congress that U.S. workers should not be harmed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ actions. Under President Obama’s executive amnesty plan, in many cases businesses now have a $3,000 incentive to hire an unlawful immigrant over a legal worker. Under the Affordable Care Act, many businesses face a $3,000-per-employee penalty if they do not provide health care to their workers. Since unlawful immigrants are not eligible for Obamacare, they will now be more attractive to hire than American workers in many instances.