Obama head fake - No executive order was ever signed for amnesty

(NaturalNews) Tens of millions of Americans were outraged when, in recent weeks, they watched as President Obama addressed the nation and appeared to indicate that he was going to sign an executive order that would ostensibly grant administrative "amnesty" to as many as 5 million people in the country illegally.

"For more than 200 years, our tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has given us a tremendous advantage over other nations. It's kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. It has shaped our character as a people with limitless possibilities - people not trapped by our past, but able to remake ourselves as we choose," the president began, during his Nov. 20 address. "But today, our immigration system is broken - and everybody knows it."

President makes announcement to nation but, thus far, takes no action

The president went on to say:

I continue to believe that the best way to solve this problem is by working together to pass that kind of common sense law. But until that happens, there are actions I have the legal authority to take as President - the same kinds of actions taken by Democratic and Republican presidents before me - that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just. Tonight, I am announcing those actions.

He then went onto to detail his actions - or did he? The president spoke as most politicians usually do, in generalities. He never came out and said he was legalizing 5 million illegal immigrants. So, did he?

Not according to one government watchdog organization, Judicial Watch, which says thus far no such order has appeared. That leaves the group wondering whether the president intends to engage in criminal conspiracy "to spend taxpayer funds on unauthorized purposes," WorldNetDaily reported.

"The fact that President Obama did not sign an executive order appears to involve a recognition by the White House that President Obama did not have the authority to make the changes in immigration law outlined in his Nov. 20 speech," said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, in comments to WND.

Executive orders used to implement law, not create it

Fitton told the news site that presidential executive orders are designed to be limited to execution of laws, not in altering or establishing them (a function reserved only for Congress).

"Barack Obama did not issue an executive order because he does not have the authority to issue an executive order in this instance," Fitton said.

The JW chief said he is of the mind that White House counsel likely concluded that Obama had zero authority to defer prosecutions under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, and instead has sought to implement deferrals via memorandum through the Department of Homeland Security's director, Jeh Johnson.

And no such memo has been filed with the Federal Register, as required by the Constitution and by statute, to stand for a period of public comment.

DHS boss Johnson may find himself in legal trouble

"Jeh Johnson did the bidding of his boss, engaging in a political act, not a legal act, that involves misappropriating public funds to open offices and hire employees to implement the directives of Johnson's memorandum," Fitton told WND.

The news site had earlier reported that officials with the National Archives and Records Administration, which is responsible for the maintenance and filing of executive orders, had not yet received one signed by Obama authorizing millions of illegal immigrants to remain in the country.

Also, the site reported, the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the state's governor-elect, was also not aware of any published order. Abbott had said Texas would sue the federal government to prevent the enactment of any such order.

WND noted, then:

Obama did sign two executive orders in Las Vegas the day after his speech. One was a presidential proclamation creating a White House Task Force on New Americans and the other a presidential memorandum instructing the secretaries of State and Homeland Security to consult with various governmental and nongovernmental entities to reduce costs and improve service in issuing immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.

But Fitton said that, according to the DHS memo, the department planned to defer prosecution of illegal residents for three years while ramping up the issuance of work authorizations to the illegal immigrants of children who are U.S. citizens because they were born here.

Fitton also said Johnson "ought to be worried about going to jail for spending money he does not have the right to spend, including hiring employees to do things there's no authorization for them to do, including issuing work permits to illegal immigrants."

You can read the rest of the report here.

Sources:

http://www.wnd.com

http://www.whitehouse.gov

http://www.wnd.com