House Passes Resolution to Defend Congress' Constitutional Authority

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representative Candice Miller (MI-10) issued the following statement after the House passed H.Res. 639, authorizing the Speaker of the House to file an amicus brief on behalf of the House of Representatives for U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Texas, in which Michigan, along with twenty-five other states, is suing the Administration for its unconstitutional DAPA program:

"The House of Representatives is known as the People's House, because it is truly the branch of government most representative of and closest to the people. However, over the last 8 years, we have witnessed this Administration's use of regulatory agencies, such as the EPA, to sidestep Congress and the American people in an attempt to unilaterally dictate the laws that govern them. Today, taking a critical step to restore the separation of powers and stop this Administration's unconstitutional overreach, the House passed a resolution to submit a brief to the Supreme Court defending the democratic ideals our country proudly stands for, "a government by the people for the people.'"

United States v. Texas is a case regarding the constitutionality of the Administration's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program (DAPA). In June 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which is a policy that allows undocumented immigrants who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to obtain a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation. This policy gave the Administration wide discretion for determining when to enforce immigration laws. In 2014, DHS established a similar process for parents of citizens and lawful permanent residents in its Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program. Texas and several other states, including Michigan, sued to prevent the implementation of DAPA.

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