President Obama has pledged to “fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress.” In announcing that he plans by the end of the summer to take unilateral action to deal with the issue of illegal immigration, Obama said, ““I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue, and Congress chooses to do nothing. And in this situation, the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, it’s bad for our economy, and it’s bad for our future.”
The last time the President acted unilaterally he deferred the deportation of an estimated one million illegal aliens under the age of 31 who were living in the United States on June 15, 2012, and who had entered the country as children under the age of 16, had not been convicted of a felony or significant misdemeanor, and were in school, had graduated from high school, obtained a GED certificate or had received an honorable discharge from one of the US armed services. Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program stopped the deportation of illegal aliens who came to this country as minors, but it did not change their immigration status or provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship. It only deferred deportation proceedings. This time the President has signaled he intends to go further.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Jeff Sessions pleaded with members of Congress to pass legislation that would prevent Obama from taking executive action to expand his deferred action program to another 5-6 million illegal aliens, and by doing so succeed “in his plan to nullify the immigration laws of the United States.” But Congress will not act to stop Obama, and even if it did, he has one arrow in his quiver that, if he chooses to shoot it, cannot be stopped from obliterating what little is left of our tattered immigration enforcement laws.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution gives the President the “power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States.” It is the least limited power granted to the President by the Constitution. There is absolutely nothing to prevent Barack Obama from issuing a blanket pardon to all, or some subset of all, the illegal aliens currently living in the United States.
George Washington pardoned all those who had taken part in the Whiskey Rebellion, and Andrew Johnson pardoned those who had supported the Confederacy. Jimmy Carter unconditionally pardoned all Vietnam draft dodgers, those who had been convicted as well as those whose cases were pending. For all practical purposes these pardons amounted to grants of amnesty. In 1877, Associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen Field in writing the majority opinion for the Court in Knote vs. United States held that “the distinction between amnesty and pardon is one rather of philological interest than of legal importance.”
The President has the power with a single stroke of the pen to grant legal status to more than 11 million illegal aliens by pardoning them for any violations of US immigration laws. By doing so he would create a scenario whereby his newly created legal aliens would be able to apply for permanent residence status and eventually citizenship. The President believes he was reelected to fulfill his promise to “fundamentally transform” America. Setting those who entered the country illegally on the path to becoming grateful Democratic Party voters would go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.
When the President has no respect for the laws he has sworn to faithfully execute, the most nightmarish of scenarios become possible.
Al Kaltman is a political science professor who teaches a leadership studies course at George Washington University. He is the author of Cigars, Whiskey and Winning: Leadership Lessons from General Ulysses S. Grant.
