The Arizona House of Representatives passed a new bill on Wednesday that stands to completely remove the state from the Obama administration's plan to provide amnesty and federal benefits to illegal immigrants.
House Bill 2368, sponsored by Republican Rep. Bob Thorpe, prohibits Arizona "from funding executive orders issued by the President of the United States and policy directives from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unless affirmed by a vote of Congress and signed into law as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution."
The straightforward bill only has two provisions:
1) Prohibits this state or any of its political subdivisions from using any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with an executive order issued by the President of the U.S. that has not been affirmed by a vote of Congress and signed into law as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution.
2) Prohibits this state or any of its political subdivisions from using any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with a policy directive issued by the U.S. DOJ to law enforcement agencies in this state that has not been affirmed by a vote of Congress and signed into law as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution.
According to AZCentral, the bill didn't even generate that much controversy, and only one representative, Democratic Rep. Bruce Wheeler of Tucson, spoke on the House floor, noting that a number of presidents throughout history have used executive orders.
The bill passed with a party line 36-24 vote, and it now heads to the Senate.
The Arizona House also took aim at Obama's Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, passing House Bill 2643, which would prohibit the state from "using any personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with the Affordable Care Act," reported the Tenth Amendment Center.
The Obama administration is currently scrambling to get around a federal injunction placed against its immigrant amnesty program after 26 states filed a suit against the administration. The suit alleges Obama acted outside his authority when he unilaterally decided to provide deportation relief to up to 5 million illegal immigrants.
On Feb. 16, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ordered the administration to temporarily stop its amnesty efforts at least until a court hearing scheduled for March 19.
But on Thursday, the Justice Department asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to bypass that hold and allow the administration to move forward with its program, saying, "The district court's order is unprecedented and wrong," reported The Hill.
