Debate surrounding DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program implemented under former President Barack Obama in 2012 and rescinded Tuesday by the Trump administration, is complicated by disagreements over the way in which it was executed. Though some Republicans strongly opposed Obama’s choice to tackle it with executive action, they support varying protections for its beneficiaries. The Trump administration’s rollback gives Congress six months to find a legislative solution to the problem if members are so inclined.
In 2014, Obama expanded the program to include an addition 330,000 illegal immigrants under a broad executive action that also offered protections for the parents of legal citizens and permanent residents. That drew sharp rebukes from conservatives who saw the move as part of a pattern of precedent-setting executive overreach on President Obama’s behalf. But it wasn’t just conservatives.
After the 2014 executive action was issued, even “Saturday Night Live” slammed Obama for sidestepping the legislative process.
In a sketch spoofing “Schoolhouse Rock” that aired just days after the then-president announced his executive action, SNL depicted Obama literally shoving an immigration bill down the steps of the Capitol building. During the sketch, cast members dressed as a hypothetical Republican immigration bill and Obama’s executive order sang about the constitutional scopes of their power.
“Wait a second, don’t you have to go through Congress at some point?” a naive student asked the executive order.
“Aw, that’s adorable, you still think that’s how government works,” the chain-smoking executive order replied.
After Obama pushed him down the steps, the bill climbed back up to sing, “Look at the midterm elections, people clearly don’t want this.” Obama tossed him right back down.
The sentiment of SNL’s sketch is not out of line with the sentiment Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed in his announcement rescinding the order on Tuesday, contending, “[T]he executive branch, through DACA, deliberately sought to achieve what the legislative branch specifically refused to authorize on multiple occasions. Such an open-ended circumvention of immigration laws was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the Executive Branch.”
Who could have predicted that in 2014?
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
