Immigration: Obama vs. Congress: did President Obama have the authority to issue an executive order protecting undocumented immigrants?

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: NATIONAL

There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, living in the shadows, in constant fear of deportation. Everyone agrees it's a huge problem, but President Obama and Congress have been unable to agree on how to fix it.

Now the president has taken matters into his own hands. Just two weeks after Democrats suffered a major defeat in November's midterm elections, Obama issued a controversial executive order that will temporarily shield about 5 million people--almost half of the illegal population--from deportation and allow many to work legally in the U.S. for the first time.

The executive order was cheered by immigrant rights groups, but it created a firestorm in Washington. Republican lawmakers accused the president of abusing his authority at a time when voters have handed Republicans control of the Senate and a bigger majority in the House of Representatives.

"By ignoring the will of the American people, President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left," said Speaker of the House John Boehner.

Under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to pass laws. But Article II says the president shall "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." That language has led presidents to issue executive orders of all kinds. Franklin D. Roosevelt used an executive order to create Japanese internment camps during World War II, and President Harry S. Truman used one to desegregate the military in 1948. Though the courts have often upheld executive orders, they're controversial since they allow presidents to take action without congressional approval.

A Nation of Hypocrisy?

Twenty-four states are suing the Obama administration, claiming he doesn't have the authority. Even some who agree with Obama on immigration aren't so sure.

Obama's order creates a new program for unauthorized immigrants who are the parents of American citizens* or legal residents. They'll be eligible for a new legal status that will allow them to work without fear of deportation once they pass background checks and pay any taxes they owe. But the executive order doesn't include a path to citizenship; only Congress can provide that.

"Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law?" Obama asked when announcing the executive order.

Many immigrant families applauded Obama's order. Paola Fernandez was just 4 years old when her parents brought her illegally from Mexico into the U.S. She grew up in Bakersfield, California, and because she has two younger siblings who were born in the U.S. and are citizens, her...