Is Obama's Immigration Plan a Constitutional Overreach?

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The Senate's top Republican on Thursday ridiculed President Obama's plan to unilaterally overhaul the nation's immigration system, calling it "a massive wave of executive amnesty" and accusing the White House of making a power grab that will only further sour relations between the two branches.“This is a serious breach of our Constitution and it cannot stand,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., after Obama announced his plans for an executive order to sidestep Congress.“The president has said before that 'he's not king' and he's 'not an emperor,' but he's sure acting like one," McConnell said.McConnell said the president's approach could have "deeply damaging" effects on the nation's economy and on the delicate balance of power between the legislative and executive branches."The president has taken matters into his own hands, completely bypassing the legislative process that is at the heart of our democracy," McConnell said. "It’s an affront to the American people, who want their elected officials to pass laws."McConnell didn't directly answer questions about whether Republicans would use the power of the purse to try to stop Obama's executive action. He said he and other GOP leaders would discuss their options in the coming weeks."We're looking at all of the options available to us," he said. "No decisions have been made at this point, but we will be exploring what options are available to us."McConnell said the president's decision was especially disappointing because the Senate had passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill last year that offered a more reasonable approach."The president's executive overreach would ignore the law, overlook the will of the American people, and overturn our centuries-old system of checks and balances," McConnell said.He called on Obama to work with Congress to find a bipartisan solution to the immigration issue."There is still time to do this the right way, through the regular order of legislation and debate, rather than through a constitutionally questionable power grab," he said.