New York Times
By Peter Baker
May 6, 2015
When
President Obama issued an executive order in November sparing millions
of illegal immigrants from deportation and offering them work permits,
he argued that he was
doing as much as the law would allow. Now Hillary Rodham Clinton says
she will do even more if she becomes president.
Her
campaign promise put the White House in an awkward position on
Wednesday. If Mr. Obama had pushed presidential legal authority as far
as it would go, does that mean
that Mrs. Clinton would be violating the law if she were to go further?
“I’m
not a judge,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary,
sidestepping an overt split between the two Democrats. “I didn’t go to
law school. So I’m not going
to be in a position to render a legal opinion.”
The
situation underscored the challenge facing Mr. Obama over the next 18
months as Mrs. Clinton tries to succeed him. Mrs. Clinton is courting
immigration activists and
liberals who argue that Mr. Obama should have gone further to ease
immigration rules without Congress’s approval. Republicans contend he
went too far, abusing his power, and a federal judge has temporarily
blocked the president’s action to consider whether
it is legal.
Mr.
Earnest labored to stand by Mr. Obama’s interpretation of his executive
power, as determined by a Justice Department opinion, without arguing
that Mrs. Clinton was
wrong.
He
said the White House still “absolutely” believed that the president did
everything he could within the law. “The president’s views on this have
not changed,” Mr. Earnest
said. “The president is determined to use as much of his authority as
he could to try to bring some much-needed accountability to our broken
immigration system.”
Would
it be illegal for Mrs. Clinton to take action that went beyond what the
Justice Department said a president could do? “That’ll be something for
future presidents,
and ultimately future courts, to decide,” Mr. Earnest said.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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