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Wilson Fights to Stop the President’s Unconstitutional Executive Actions on Immigration

March 3, 2015

(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) today issued the following statement after voting no on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 240, a bill the House passed to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the end of Fiscal Year 2015 that fails to address the President's unconstitutional executive actions on immigration:

"Despite President Obama's own words that he cannot act on immigration without Congress, his unconstitutional decision to pardon illegal aliens for breaking our laws is a deliberate overreach of presidential authority. His recent, sweeping executive actions on immigration destroy jobs for American citizens, insult the millions of immigrants following our rules and working through the system to achieve legal status, and ignore the will of the American people.

"In January, the House passed a bipartisan bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for implementing immigration policy, and stop the President's illegal executive amnesty. Sadly, Senate Democrats have successfully blocked any effort to vote on this funding bill, and now, they are putting DHS at risk of shutting down. I am concerned about the possible shutdown of DHS, but I am thoroughly worried about the long-term consequences of implementing an unlawful immigration policy that cannot be reversed and destroys jobs.

"I will not support funding the President's unconstitutional executive actions on immigration that destroy American jobs. I voted no on today's bill because it fails to stop the President's executive amnesty. As we continue efforts to protect our nation's citizens and help more Americans get back to work, I hope the President will focus on enforcing our current laws rather than circumventing Congress to promote the interests of illegal aliens over the well being of American families," Congressman Joe Wilson said.

On March 28, 2011, President Obama said, "The notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that's just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed."

In a national poll conducted in January of this year, 58% of Americans oppose President Obama's recent executive order on immigration, and 53% want it defunded.