Today on the Facebook page of Congressman Randy Forbes (R, VA-4) we see a glimpse of some of the plans underway to combat President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration policy, including details on a bill for same. As some of you are likely aware, Forbes recently voted for the horrendous “cromnibus” spending package (which fully-funded Obamacare) that did NOT include funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) past February. So there’s a brief window right now when the republicans are looking to leverage that funding hold-back to get concessions on immigration….before DHS funding runs out.

Unfortunately though, I don’t think this is going anywhere.

Submitting this bill is essentially asking President Obama for his permission to stop his policies. I’m not seeing how this will work.

We’re going to be headed for 1 of 2 possible outcomes:

1. President Obama agrees to sign a bill that refutes his policies (will never happen), or
2. Republicans let funding for DHS cease, and then the DHS is hobbled.

Lucy pulls out footballHere’s how this is going to go. The republicans will ask “pretty please” for Obama to stop Obama’s own policies. When he vetoes the bill(s), republicans will get close to the date when DHS funding lapses. Then, fearing blame for lack of security during DHS funding, they will cave and fund it anyway, giving President Obama everything he wants. I think we’re simply watching theater…republican leadership doesn’t have a history of taking a principled stand…especially on immigration policy. The ONLY way that real pressure could have been applied was for republicans to threaten the entire package of funding for the government…leverage that the republican leadership already gave away when they passed the cromnibus bill.

In the end, I’d bet lunch on the fact that the threat of DHS funding withholding was an empty one, used to temper the anger of conservatives who felt betrayed over the cromnibus bill. How many times will we continue to attempt to kick the football, only for Lucy to pull it away yet one more time?

See details on the bill on the Facebook page for Congressman Forbes (also below):

Fyi – we’re expected to be voting on the Department of Homeland Security funding bill over the next day or so, and with it 5 amendments that will cut funding from the President’s executive actions on immigration and restrict him from taking similar actions in the future. This includes prohibiting the use of agency-collected fees (which I talked about back in December) that make up about 97% of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) budget. The USCIS is the agency responsible for implementing the President’s executive amnesty plan. Prohibiting of all funding – including fees – to implement the President’s executive actions is something I have been working with the Judiciary Committee on, and is, in my opinion, the most crucial aspect of the amendments.

I do recommend your read the entire post….very informative on the upcoming plans, as futile as I imagine they will be.