Victory for the Rule of Law

A federal judge in Texas has issued a temporary injunction halting the executive amnesty program the president announced last year.

This is a major victory for the rule of law and it’s further proof that the United States Senate should defund the president’s unlawful action.

Senate Democrats should stop blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a misguided attempt to save executive amnesty, and Senate Republicans should keep their word and fight to defund it.

We have a system of checks and balances, and the judicial and legislative branches have a responsibility to check the president for overstepping his authority.

This decision in Texas is a good first step, but now Congress needs to use its power of the purse to defend the Constitution.

As you know, the plan to stop the president’s amnesty in the DHS spending bill was designed by the Republican leadership as a way to get conservative lawmakers to support a bloated omnibus bill last year.

The leadership’s plan was designed to succeed in passing the massive spending bill, but then fail when it came time to defund amnesty.

In fact, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) recently undermined the DHS bill by trying to shift the responsibility for passing it onto conservatives in the Senate rather than on the leadership who designed the strategy.

Likewise, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has refused to make it painful for the Democrats to block the DHS bill and has instead sought to pressure the House to abandon it.

This decision in Texas should unify Republicans and be a turning point in the fight to stop the president’s unlawful actions.

Now is the time for all Republicans to speak with one voice. If the Democrats block DHS funding, they should be held responsible for causing a department shutdown and for participating in the president’s lawless amnesty.

Democrats are the ones blocking security funding to protect an unlawful program.

But if Republicans cave to the Democrats now, after such an important victory in the Courts, they will be equally responsible in helping the president violate the Constitution and the rule of law.