A few years ago Obama said he couldn't do this exact same thing because he is the President, not the Emperor. I guess he got a recent upgrade in rank.
That's false. You are perpetuating a falsehood.
He said he could not do this in public speeches 25 times.
No, he did not. He said that he could not pass the Senate Bill on his own.
The Senate passed an Immigration bill, but here are a few of the statements Obama made in speeches and interviews.
“I know some here wish that I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself,” Obama said during a commencement address last month at Miami Dade College. “But that’s not how democracy works. See, democracy is hard. But it’s right. Changing our laws means doing the hard work of changing minds and changing votes, one by one.”
Readmore:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54629.html#ixzz3Jizo8oWd
These five remarks came from
Obama 8217 s Immigration Amnesia
Obama:Well, actually, my position hasn’t changed. When I was talking to the advocates, their interest was in me, through executive action, duplicating the legislation that was stalled in Congress. And getting a comprehensive deal of the sort that is in the Senate legislation, for example, does extend beyond my legal authorities. There are certain things I cannot do. There are certain limits to what falls within the realm of prosecutorial discretion in terms of how we apply existing immigration laws.
Obama:Well, I think it is important to remind everybody that, as I said I think previously, and I’m not a king. I am the head of the executive branch of government. I’m required to follow the law. And that’s what we’ve done. But what I’ve also said is, let’s make sure that we’re applying the law in a way that takes into account people’s humanity. That’s the reason that we moved forward on deferred action. Within the confines of the law we said, we have some discretion in terms of how we apply this law. The same is true with respect to the kinds of the length of time that people have to spend outside of the country when their spouses are already here for example.
Obama, 2011: With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed — and I know that everybody here at Bell is studying hard so you know that we’ve got three branches of government. Congress passes the law. The executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement those laws. And then the judiciary has to interpret the laws.
There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president.
Obama, Sept. 17, 2013: My job in the executive branch is supposed to be to carry out the laws that are passed. Congress has said, here’s the law when it comes to those who are undocumented, and they allocate a whole bunch of money for enforcement.
And these from
Obama 8217 s royal flip-flop on using executive action on illegal immigration - The Washington Post
With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed — and I know that everybody here at Bell is studying hard so you know that we’ve got three branches of government.
Congress passes the law. The executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement those laws. And then the judiciary has to interpret the laws.
There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that
for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as President.
Obama:Well, look Jackie, this is something I’ve struggled with throughout my presidency. The problem is that you know
I’m the president of the United States. I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed, and Congress right now has not changed what I consider to be a broken immigration system.
