Enzi, Barrasso Join Court Brief Against Executive Amnesty

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., joined Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and 40 other senators in signing a friend-of-the-court brief supporting petitioners challenging the legality of President Obama's Nov. 2014 program of deferred action for illegal immigrants.

If upheld, the president's program would grant "lawful presence" and work authorization to more than 4 million foreign nationals who are in the United States unlawfully. The senators' amicus brief argues that the president's executive action is an unprecedented power grab and violates Congress' constitutional authority.

The Supreme Court took up United States v. Texas after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction last November by a federal district court in Brownsville, Texas. That court blocked the Obama administration from moving forward with its executive actions on immigration that are in violation of federal law. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on this case on April 18.

"The president is attempting to set a dangerous precedent by granting amnesty to millions without a single vote from Congress," Enzi said. "It is important that the U.S. Supreme Court set the record straight, that the president's pen is not a magic wand that can subvert the rule of law. Congress is an equal branch of government and cannot be ignored by the executive just because we refuse to follow the president's bidding."

"President Obama's executive amnesty flies in the face of his promises to follow the law and help unemployed Americans find good jobs," said Barrasso. "We should not be rewarding people who have come here illegally--and that is exactly what this unlawful program does. Our amicus brief asks the Supreme Court to put an end to this executive overreach once and for all."

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