They play in our neighborhoods, they're friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one -- on paper.I wonder whether halting the deportation of those who can't produce the paper to prove they were born in the U.S. was motivated by sympathy or empathy.
In any event, here's Mr. Obama - a constitutional scholar, mind you - declaring in 2011 that such presidential action exceeds his constitutional authority.
Evidently, not only has President Obama evolved rapidly on this issue, as he has on gay marriage, so has our constitution. Charles Krauthammer, however, thinks it's more about disregard for the law than it is about evolution:
Krauthammer may be understating the case. What Barack Obama has done in choosing not to enforce the law, just as he has in choosing not to enforce The Defense of Marriage Act, is to effectively change the law without congressional review. This is the sort of thing dictators do. We live in a constitutional republic where the elected representatives of the people decide what the laws will be. If the President isn't going to enforce those laws he invites impeachment proceedings for violating his oath of office and failing in his constitutional duty to uphold the laws of the United States.