Former AG On Immigration: 'We Have An Immediate Crisis With These Children And Congress Has Failed To Act'
By Dom Giordano
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Dom Giordano talked with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Talk Radio 1210 about his editorial in USA Today urging President Obama to act to end the immigration crisis on our southern border with Mexico.
Gonzales believes President Obama must move to curtail the influx of immigrants into the border states.
"I support executive action for a President, assuming he has the authority under the Constitution to do so. We've got a serious issue along the border. We have an immediate crisis with these children from Central America. Congress has failed to act, they've had an opportunity to take action, and so I think the President, he's elected to make these kind of tough calls, and so long as he's acting within the limits of the Constitution, I support it."
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
However, he advised the President against granting amnesty to the millions of undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.
"I would urge a great deal of contemplation because what you're doing then is placing the President in the position of being accused of violating the law when you simply excuse an entire class of individuals from the requirements of the laws passed by Congress. I think that's a very dangerous place for the President to be in. I would urge caution in doing so. That kind of action is going to be subject to challenge."
Gonzales said Congress shares the blame for allowing the crisis to escalate because they failed to pass a comprehensive reform bill.
"That we are worried about the President enforcing the law doesn't excuse the Congress from doing its job. It begins with Congress passing legislation. That's the best approach to this problem, to have a comprehensive bill that addresses all the tentacles of immigration. Until we do that, we really are, sort of, giving the President a pass here, and until we do that we are left with a situation where it's, sort of, amnesty. People come into this country; they're allowed to stay here. We don't know why they're here. It's inconsistent with our notion of being a nation of laws."
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