Opinion

Sweet land of liberty . . . even if you’re not legal

The Issue: President Obama’s decision to grant temporary legal status to some young immigrants.

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President Obama thinks he can ignore our Constitution and laws that were put in place by our Founding Fathers and do his things his way (“Obama’s Overreach,” Editorial, June 16).

I understand immigration is a huge problem but, as usual, it’s Obama’s way or no way.

This was purely a political move to ensure he stays in office for another four years.

Lorraine Rokicki

Staten Island

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Without using the words “fairness,” “social justice” or “the right thing to do,” can someone please tell me where in the Constitution the executive has the authority to bypass Congress and grant work permits to 800,000 foreign nationals?

Marty Currid

The Bronx

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Finally, Obama has the guts to stick it to the do-nothing Congress and the filibustering Senate. Never in our history has there been more obstruction.

I hope Obama rams through a jobs bill, too.

Rocco Pellone

Manhattan

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A century ago, all it took to become a citizen was arriving on American soil. However, as citizenship evolved and began to include financial benefits, the rules, rightly, were tightened.

Now citizenship is more valuable than ever. Rather than reward the most promising potential citizens, Obama will reward parents who illegally entered the country with their children.

With this act, Obama has eliminated the chief requirement for citizenship — being born here.

C. Bischof

Brooklyn

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The president has decided not to enforce deportations for worthy illegal immigrants, and The Post gets into a snit, saying it’s unconstitutional not to go through Congress.

With this Congress, anything Obama proposes will die on Capitol Hill. If Obama sent a “let’s be nice to puppies day” proposal, the Tea Party would scuttle it to spite him. Their object has been to prove governance ineffective by making governance ineffective.

Presidents can choose which policies to enforce and which to ignore.

George W. Bush did it with signing statements indicating he would ignore congressional laws. Obama can’t use signing statements when Congress will pass no law, so he merely announces it.

Steven Chinn

Manhattan

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As usual, another good Obama decision reveals itself to be a double-edged sword.

I support liberalizing our immigration policy, but not at the expense of the American legislative process via the use of presidential edicts.

For a former constitutional law professor, the president has displayed a remarkable inability to understand the proper bounds of his own office.

Obama’s recent executive order is basically a revised version of the DREAM Act, which has repeatedly failed to pass Congress. Thus, Obama is seeking to rule by decree rather than as the executive in a representative democracy.

While I admire the president’s intentions, his willingness to circumvent the American political process is destructive and frightening.

Matt Faherty

Garrison

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After listening to our president allow illegal aliens to remain in our country, even though they have violated the law, I realized that I can’t recall the government ever allowing its citizens to break the law and then give them a pass.

It would appear that illegal aliens now have more rights than legal citizens.

Gerard Kenny

Morristown, NJ

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Thanks to all of you who think it’s great to make 2 million illegals legal.

As a 57-year-old unemployed veteran, I can’t wait to compete with all these people in Southern California for an $8-an-hour job.

S. Royston

Palm Desert, Calif.

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When undocumented kids come forward for their amnesty, is Immigration going to follow them home and arrest their illegal parents?

Or does the wink and nod by Obama cover the rest of the family, too?

Paul Alexander

Staten Island