Politicsobama immigrationPoliticsobama executive action

House Appropriations Committee Confirms Congress Can't Defund Obama's Immigration Action

House Appropriations Committee Confirms Congress Can't Defund Obama's Immigration Action
Open Image Modal
By 

Senior Politics Reporter, HuffPost

|

WASHINGTON -- The House Appropriations Committee confirmed Thursday what some people are already figuring out: Republicans don't have the ability to defund President Barack Obama's forthcoming executive action on immigration.

Obama is expected to announce Thursday night that he will use his executive authority to stop deportations for as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants. Republicans have fumed about the president going around Congress to make such a significant change and vowed to cut off funding for it. Some have even threatened to shut down the government in protest.

But lawmakers can't cut off funding for Obama's action because the agency responsible for carrying out the changes is completely self-funded, the House Appropriations Committee explained in a statement:

"The primary agency for implementing the President's new immigration executive order is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This agency is entirely self-funded through the fees it collects on various immigration applications. Congress does not appropriate funds for any of its operations, including the issuance of immigration status or work permits, with the exception of the 'E-Verify' program. Therefore, the Appropriations process cannot be used to 'de-fund' the agency. The agency has the ability to continue to collect and use fees to continue current operations, and to expand operations as under a new Executive Order, without needing legislative approval by the Appropriations Committee or the Congress, even under a continuing resolution or a government shutdown.”

The president's decision to take unilateral action comes in response to Congress' failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The Senate passed a bipartisan bill more than a year ago, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has refused to give it a vote, leaving the issue on track to stall out at the end of the year.

While many Republicans have said they want to block the president's executive action, they haven't been able to explain how, exactly, they would go about doing it. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), for one, has said he has no idea how an effort to cut off funding would work.

Support HuffPost

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.

Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your will go a long way.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Why Latin Americans Really Come To The U.S.
It's not just about the 'American Dream'(01 of20)
Open Image Modal
The conventional wisdom says that most Latin American migrants who come to the United States are looking for a better life, inspired by the "American Dream." And it's hard to deny that there's a lot of truth in that.

But there's another side to the story. People leave Latin America because life there can be very hard. Poverty, political instability and recurring financial crises often conspire to make Latin American life more challenging than in the U.S., a wealthy country with lots of job opportunities.

Living on the northern side of the U.S.-Mexico border, it's easy to view Latin America as another world, isolated from the United States. But the truth is that the U.S. government has historically made life in Latin America harder by overthrowing democratically elected governments, financing atrocities and pushing trade policies that undermine Latin American industries, dealing blows to local economies. Perhaps instead of building walls, the United States should focus on being a better neighbor.

Here are 19 ways the U.S. government has helped spur immigration by making life harder in Latin America. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Took over almost half of Mexico(02 of20)
Open Image Modal
In 1846, shortly after the annexation of Texas, President James Polk ordered U.S. troops into disputed lands, precipitating a war against Mexico. The war ended with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This is what Chicano activists mean when they say "the border crossed them." Today, 33.5 million people of Mexican origin live in the United States. (credit:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Flickr" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb8ddb6e4b0877500fd7fd1" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="22" data-vars-position-in-unit="25">Flickr</a>:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/60584010@N00/3212637401" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="leiris202" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5bb8ddb6e4b0877500fd7fd1" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://www.flickr.com/photos/60584010@N00/3212637401" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="23" data-vars-position-in-unit="26">leiris202</a>)
Colonized Puerto Rico in 1898(03 of20)
Open Image Modal
The United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898 during the Spanish American War and has retained control of the island ever since. More people of Puerto Rican descent currently live in the United States than on the island. (credit:A member of the U.S. Army Honor Guard salutes the Puerto Rican and U.S. flags.)
Took over Cuba, put a naval base there, and only left when the new government allowed them the right to intervene at will(04 of20)
Open Image Modal
And yet somehow, U.S. politicians viewed themselves as liberators. Later U.S. administrations would use the naval base to jail suspected terrorists and hold them indefinitely without trial, also submitting them to torture tactics, according to Human Rights Watch. (credit:Wikimedia: Col. Theodore Roosevelt stands triumphant on San Juan Hill, Cuba.)
Invaded and occupied Cuba two more times(05 of20)
Open Image Modal
Because once wasn't good enough, the United States invaded and occupied Cuba again in 1906 and once more in 1912. It retained the legal authority to intervene in Cuba's affairs until the 1933 Sergeants' Revolt overthrew U.S.-backed dictator Gerardo Machado. (credit:WikiMedia: The leaders of the 1933 Sergeants revolution: Ramón Grau, Sergio Carbó and Sgt. Fulgencio Batista.)
Invaded Nicaragua and occupied the country for two decades(06 of20)
Open Image Modal
The United States invaded Nicaragua in 1912 and occupied the country until 1933. Shortly after the U.S. forces left, Anastasio Somoza took over, launching a decades-long dynastic dictatorship with U.S. support. (credit:WikiMedia: Fort on Coyotepe hill, near Masaya, Nicaragua, during the Nicaraguan Civil War and U.S. occupation, circa 1912.)
Invaded Haiti and occupied the country for nearly 20 years(07 of20)
Open Image Modal
Woodrow Wilson ordered the Marines to invade and occupy Haiti in 1915 after the assassination of the Haitian president. The troops didn't leave until 1934. (credit:PA)
Invaded the Dominican Republic in 1916(08 of20)
Open Image Modal
Mainly to collect debts, the United States invaded the Dominican Republic in 1916. The occupation lasted eight years. (credit:WikiMedia: U.S. Marines in action in the Dominican Republic, c. 1916-1920. )
Overthrew Guatemala's elected government in 1954(09 of20)
Open Image Modal
At the behest of United Fruit Company, a U.S. corporation with extensive holdings in Central America, the CIA helped engineer the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954, ushering in decades of civil war that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. (credit:Getty Images: 28th June 1954, Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, right.)
Organized the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961(10 of20)
Open Image Modal
The CIA organized and financed a group of anti-Fidel Castro exiles in an ill-fated attempt to overthrow the revolutionary government. The botched invasion ended in disaster and Castro declared himself a "Marxist-Leninist" eight months later. (credit:Alamy)
Supported the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Brazil(11 of20)
Open Image Modal
The administration of Lyndon Johnson assisted the overthrow of the democratically elected Brazilian government in 1964. The resulting military dictatorship, which tortured thousands of opponents and "disappeared" hundreds, ruled the country until 1985. (credit:WikiMedia: U.S. Army officer Charles Murray walks with Pres. John F. Kennedy, left, and Brazilian Pres. João Goulart on April 3, 1962.)
Helped overthrow Chile's elected government in 1973(12 of20)
Open Image Modal
Gen. Augusto Pinochet, with the support of the Nixon administration, overthrew the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, ushering in decades of violent dictatorship. (credit:Alamy: Former President of Chile Salvador Allende. )
Backed a military dictatorship in Argentina that killed 30,000 people(13 of20)
Open Image Modal
When the military overthrew the Argentine government and installed a dictatorship in 1976, the Gerald Ford administration responded by offering its wholehearted support and financial assistance. The dictatorship lasted until 1983. (credit:Former head of Argentina's military dictatorship Jorge Rafael Videla.)
Paid a failed rebel army to overthrow the Nicaraguan government (14 of20)
Open Image Modal
When the left-wing Sandinista government rose to power in Nicaragua, it did not please Washington. In 1979, the U.S. began years of financing the "Contras," a right-wing group responsible for committing atrocities and smuggling drugs into the U.S. with the Reagan administration's knowledge. (credit:Alamy)
Invaded Haiti again in 1994(15 of20)
Open Image Modal
One invasion wasn't good enough. The U.S. military returned in 1994. (credit:A U.S. Army soldier monitors the surroundings of the National Palace, on Oct. 15, 1994, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.)
Fomented a rebellion in Panama in order to build a canal(16 of20)
Open Image Modal
The Theodore Roosevelt administration helped a group of Panamanian nationalists break away from Colombia, after that country's Senate rejected the terms of a deal to allow the U.S. to use its territory there to build a canal. After Panama broke away, the new country ceded permanent control of the canal zone to the U.S. government, which finally returned it in 1999, after years of protests. (credit:WikiMedia: Miraflores Locks, Panama Canal.)
Backed the Salvadoran military as it committed atrocities in the 1980s(17 of20)
Open Image Modal
El Salvador's military committed atrocities throughout the 1980s with U.S. funding, including -- but not limited to -- raping nuns, assassinating priests and killing hundreds of children in a single massacre at the village of El Mozote. (credit:AP: Former Salvadoran military officials. )
Refuses to control the flow of weapons into Mexico(18 of20)
Open Image Modal
Mexican authorities seized almost 70,000 weapons of U.S. origin from 2007 to 2011. In 2004, the U.S. Congress declined to renew a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons. They quickly became the guns of choice for Mexican drug cartels. (credit:Getty Images)
Helped create today's drug cartels(19 of20)
Open Image Modal
The U.S. funded the Guatemalan military during the 1960s and 1970s anti-insurgency war, despite awareness of widespread human rights violations. Among the recipients of U.S. military funding and training were the Kaibiles, a special force unit responsible for several massacres. Former Kaibiles have joined the ranks of the Zetas drug cartel. (credit:AP)
Pushes trade policies that lead to unemployment(20 of20)
Open Image Modal
One of the things that prompted millions of low-wage workers to abandon Mexico over the last two decades was the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. With NAFTA, cheap imports, particularly agricultural products, flooded the Mexican market, leaving farmers and other low-skilled workers without jobs. NAFTA is just one manifestation of free trade policies pushed in Washington that often have adverse effects in Latin American countries. Former President Bill Clinton acknowledged as much after Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake, saying that opening up the Haitian market to cheap U.S. rice "may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has not worked. ... I had to live every day with the consequences of the loss of capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people because of what I did, nobody else." (credit:Getty Images: Demonstrators carry an oversized replica of a corn cob to protest the lowering of tariffs due to NAFTA.)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip