Rep. DeSantis fights Obama's immigration reform

Americans who voted for Republicans in the 2014 Midterm Elections want their representatives to confront the Obama Administration on its immigration policies, according to Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis from St. Augustine.

“And if he [President Obama] wants to be an impediment to progress, then he’s going to have to deal with the consequences of that.”

The Republican-controlled House will soon vote on a Department of Homeland Security spending bill which Republicans want to use to defund and reverse President Obama's immigration plans.

Republicans such as DeSantis believe President Obama overstepped his constitutional authority when he announced executive orders to provide legal work permits to some five million illegal immigrants.

“He himself admitted twenty-two different times over the course of several years that he did not have the authority to do what he’s done,” DeSantis says.  “We think it’s a proper constitutional response to assert our authority in Congress and to protect the American people.”

Republicans have come out with a five-amendment package to the DHS spending bill, one of which DeSantis authored.

His amendment would block funding for DHS programs that treat illegal immigrants convicted of domestic violence, sexual abuse, child molestation or child exploitation as anything less than the highest priority for apprehension and removal.

DeSantis says right now DHS classifies some sexual offenses, including some against minor, into a “second-tier priority” for removal.

“We believe that there should be a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offenses and domestic violence,” he says.

Another amendment supported by DeSantis is authored by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), which expresses concern that an intersection of policies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and President Obama's execution actions on immigration.  The amendment says that U.S. employers will have more incentive to hire illegal immigrants over American workers because illegal immigrants aren't counted for tax and penalty purposes under the ACA.  The employer mandate does not apply to them.  But under the executive action, some can be granted a legal work permit.

DeSantis claims the immigrants with a work permit will have a $3000 hiring preference over an American worker.

Another Republican amendment to the DHS spending will would prevent any funds from being used for President Obama’s immigration plan, including the fees immigrants pay to apply.  Another would defund the President’s 2012 program allowing “Dreamers” to apply for temporary permission to stay.  A fifth amendment symbolically protests policies that give preference to immigrants who are in the country illegally over those awaiting legal entry.

“Under the President’s executive amnesty, you will see legal immigrants who are in the pipeline following the rules and doing what we want them to do – they will be disadvantaged and they will have to wait longer,” DeSantis says.

The House could vote on the DHS spending bill as early as Wednesday.