House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer speaks Wednesday morning. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Linda Sanchez, in blue, stands by him. They are surrounded by immigration advocates. (Yunita Ong/MNS)
WASHINGTON – Although House Republicans on Wednesday blocked President Barack Obama’s recent executive action on immigration, the White House quickly fired back with another veto threat.
The GOP-controlled House adopted an amendment, 237-190, to overturn the immigration plan that was tacked onto a nearly $40 billion bill to fund the Homeland Security Department.
Democrats objected strongly in recent days to the issues being intertwined — and seven Republicans also voted against the amendment.
The November executive action allows undocumented immigrants to seek work permits and avoid deportations.
The House also adopted another amendment to freeze the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which was implemented in 2012. The vote fell largely along party lines, passing 218-209. However, several Republicans — 26 in all — did not vote for that amendment either.
The White House confirmed in a press call on Wednesday afternoon that Obama will veto the legislation if it reaches his desk. “The priorities of the administration is to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” said Cecilia Muñoz, White House Domestic Policy Director. “We have no intent to tinker with the executive action of the president.”
House Speaker John Boehner called the president’s executive action on immigration “an affront to the rule of law and to the Constitution itself.”
“These actions ignore the will of the American people, who voted in November to change the way Washington operates, and these actions flout the United States Constitution,” Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said on the House floor.
The legislation now moves to the Senate, where political observers say the House plan is likely to struggle. DHS funding expires at the end of February.
One prominent Republican, however, quickly applauded the House GOP votes, calling the president’s executive action unconstitutional.
“Congress has a responsibility to respond and push back on [the president’s] illegal power grab,” said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was defeated by Obama for the presidency in 2008.
Republican defectors
The House votes may reveal a split in the majority party. More than 20 Republicans, most of whom represent districts with substantial minority populations, did not vote for one or both of the measures.
“The legislation passed in the House eliminates prosecutorial discretion, placing immigrant children, and violent criminals and sex offenders at equal levels,” said Rep. David G. Valadao, R- Calif., who represents a majority Hispanic district.
Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania was one of the Republicans who voted against overturning DACA. The renewal language in the amendment was “too stringent,” his spokesman said.
“I have serious concerns about amendments to the appropriations act, as they may remove protections for victims of sexual assault or domestic abuse,” said Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C.
House Democrats had issued a series of warning attacks on the Republican amendment in the past few days.
“There is no reason to mess with Homeland Security funding while tearing American families apart,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said on Wednesday morning before the vote.
Hoyer challenged Republicans to bring a comprehensive immigration bill to the House rather than block funding for a key security agency. Boehner has said he will discuss immigration in coming weeks.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., a noted champion on immigration reform, warned on the House floor: “The fruit of your actions will cause anger, outrage and mobilization of an immigrant community throughout this nation.”
Advocates outraged
Several pro-immigration advocacy groups also condemned the Republican move.
“I cannot think of a more substantively offensive and politically disastrous step for Republicans to take at this moment in time,” said Janet Murguía, president of Hispanic civil rights group National Council of La Raza.
Kica Matos, a spokeswoman for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, agreed: “It is outrageous that the first vote the House Republican leadership decided to take on immigration punishes millions of hardworking immigrants who have contributed so much to the U.S. economy and have come to love their adopted country.”
It remains unclear how the bill would progress beyond the House, said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Despite taking control of the Senate, Republicans are six votes short of the self-imposed filibuster rule requiring 60 votes to act.
“This is a largely symbolic vote that shows how the Republican Party has become even more opposed to any form of legalization since 2012 when the DACA program was implemented,” Allen said.
The Senate’s plans for considering a potential parallel bill will not likely be known until next week when Republicans return from their annual retreat.
Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, acknowledged that the Republican plan would help enforce the secure budget needed to pay border agents and fund long-term technological investment.
However, he also added: “If we’re going to be effective in continuing to protect the country, we not only need that budget but also (need to) have the immigration system that was broken fixed. And this is what the president’s actions do.”
