"Perhaps I’m missing something but I can’t find a provision of the US Constitution that authorizes a president to act because he/she just can’t wait for Congress. The Obama Administration must have found the language. Otherwise, the new administrative amnesty-in-place for illegal aliens under the age of 31 would be considered an extra-constitutional directive by fiat.

"Today, in an unconstitutional move, President Obama thwarted the will of Congress and shunned the 20 million under and unemployed Americans by announcing he will grant work permits to 2-3 million illegal workers. Congress on three occasions rejected DREAM Act amnesties in part to protect unemployed workers born here or who came here legally," said Roy Beck, NumbersUSA CEO and Founder.

I think you have to maintain a sense of humor in dealing with the Obama crew. If you don't, their blatant attempts to undermine the nation’s constitutional order and separation of powers will drive you nuts.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), however, is not at all amused by the Obama administration’s announcement. In a statement, he said:

President Obama’s decision to grant amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants is a breach of faith with the American people.  It also blatantly ignores the rule of law that is the foundation of our democracy.  This huge policy shift has horrible consequences for unemployed Americans looking for jobs and violates President Obama’s oath to uphold the laws of this land.

President Obama’s amnesty only benefits illegal immigrants, not Americans, and is a magnet for fraud.  Many illegal immigrants will falsely claim they came here as children and the federal government has no way to check whether their claims are true. And once these illegal immigrants are granted deferred action, they can then apply for a work permit, which the Administration routinely grants 90% of the time.

How can the Administration justify allowing illegal immigrants to work in the U.S. when millions of Americans are unemployed?  President Obama and his administration once again have put partisan politics and illegal immigrants ahead of the rule of law and the American people.   With this track record, it’s looking more likely that even President Obama may lose his job in this economy when Americans go to the polls this November.

The media immediately compared the Administration’s decision to the DREAM Act, and rightfully so. The criteria are almost identical. Brought here before the age of 16. Capped in the 30-something age range. No serious history of felonies. Work privileges. And other feckless criteria that will not stop the inevitable fraud by eager illegal aliens.

Congress repeatedly refused to pass the DREAM Act, but President Obama decided he just couldn’t wait. So Administration attorneys ginned up a plan to implement the DREAM Act on its own. A Get-Out-Of-Deportation-Free-Card that can be renewed indefinitely. Just no citizenship.

In April, President Obama said this about the health care law "I’m confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress." But he thinks it's okay to overstep the democratically-elected Congress that voted down the DREAM Act on three separate occasions?

The Administration doesn’t want us to worry about the fraud machine it just unleashed. They say that, “Only those individuals who can prove through verifiable documentation that they meet these criteria will be eligible for deferred action.” Right. There isn’t much of a fake ID market in the U.S. anyway.

Also that,” Individuals will not be eligible if they are not currently in the United States and cannot prove that they have been physically present in the United States for a period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding today’s date.” Uh-huh.  The coyotes will have people waiting in line within hours to sneak across the border. And don’t be surprised if there is a sudden interest in visiting the U.S. via plane by people who never want to leave.

Yes, the President has created one humdinger of a fraud machine now. And we thought that he couldn’t top “prosecutorial discretion.” Ha!

We at NumbersUSA are wasting no time in fighting this action by fiat. Please look for a phone note and faxes on your Action Board. Some in Congress are already weighing in but we need as many congressional Republicans and Democrats as possible speaking out against the action. Since the DHS budget is still under consideration, we’ll need language added that prohibits the Administration from using funds to implement this action never authorized by Congress."

VAN ESSER is the Manager, Membership Services for NumbersUSA