Isenberg: Obama's Executive Order on Immigration not Constitutional

ICIE founder Ralph Isenberg hopes the United States government improves the way they administrate immigration law, but he doesn't believe President Obama's recent executive order was not the way to do it. In fact, he doesn't believe the order was constitutional. "The President has gone over the line. When our government debates immigration, one man is not invited to the debate is the President. He stays home on the issue, except for issues like Temporary Protected Status," he said.

Isenberg points out that only particular branches of government can regulate changes to immigration law. "The Departments of Health and Human Services, State, and Justice can make decisions that affect immigration, but they should report to Congress. The President has taken the 1952 Immigration and Naturalization Act and cherry-picked regulations. He has taken some provisions out and changed others. The President has suspended law. Not even the Congress can suspend law. The Congress cannot modify law. The mere suggestion of what the President has done is impeachable," he said. "If executed, the order would be a clear violation of the Fifth Amendment. It is not permitted. That is the constitutional dilemma: Congress can blow the whistle on the President and say that he has crossed the line."

Isenberg points out that neither the Constitution nor the Supreme Court have given the President the authority to act on immigration as he did. "I cannot find one ruling from the Supreme Court giving the President power over Congress," he said. "Immigration belongs to Congress, not the Executive Branch. The President does not govern. The Legislative Branch governs, and the Executive Branch implements and enforces immigration policy."

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The Isenberg Center for Immigration Empowerment (ICIE) is "a resort of last hope” for foreign nationals. People come to ICIE because the system has failed, and as a result, someone is facing a wrongful deportation. Since their founding in 2011, ICIE has helped hundreds of deserving families, and provides all services pro-bono. The organization deals with the entire family unit, from teaching the basic fundamentals behind community service, to English education, to individualized counseling to build positive mental health. ICIE has established a fund to underwrite the legal fees incurred by foreign nationals in the immigration court process. To support this fund, click here to make a donation by PayPal.