Expressing disapproval of the failure to uphold the constitutional duty to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" and the usurpation of the legislative authority of Congress by the President of the United States.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 493 Expressing disapproval of the failure to uphold the constitutional duty to ‘‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’’ and the usurpation of the legislative authority of Congress by the President of the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 23, 2021 Mrs. BOEBERT (for herself, Mr. POSEY, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. JACKSON, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. FALLON, Mr. MASSIE, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. NORMAN, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mrs. GREENE of Georgia, and Mr. ROY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju- diciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned RESOLUTION Expressing disapproval of the failure to uphold the constitu- tional duty to ‘‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’’ and the usurpation of the legislative authority of Congress by the President of the United States. Whereas article I of the United States Constitution vests Congress with all legislative powers; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR493.IH HR493 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 493 IH Whereas article I, section 8, clause 4 of the Constitution grants Congress clear jurisdiction with regard to citizen- ship and immigration matters; Whereas article II, section 3 of the United States Constitu- tion imposes a duty on the President to ‘‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’’; Whereas the Constitution does not delegate authority to the President to rewrite or amend constitutionally enacted laws; Whereas President George Washington explained the Con- stitution’s Take Care Clause as follows: ‘‘It is my duty to see the Laws executed: to permit them to be trampled with impunity would be repugnant to’’ that duty; Whereas James Madison wrote in The Federalist No. 47 that the ‘‘accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny’’; Whereas the text of sections 235(b)(1)(B)(iii), 235(b)(1)(B)(iii)(IV), 235(b)(2)(A), and 239(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires detaining inad- missible aliens and issuing Notices to Appear; Whereas it is the duty of the President of the United States to ensure the faithful execution of the immigration laws of the United States and enforce all provisions of the Im- migration and Nationality Act mandating removal of in- admissible or removable aliens; Whereas the Department of Homeland Security (hereafter DHS) has entered into more than 100 agreements under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR493.IH HR493 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 493 IH U.S.C. 1357(g)) with State and local law enforcement agencies; Whereas DHS entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on January 8, 2021, with the State of Texas; in which DHS agreed to ‘‘consult with Texas before taking any ac- tion or making any decision that would reduce immigra- tion enforcement,’’ including pausing or decreasing de- portations; Whereas the agreement required DHS to provide 180 days’ notice of any proposed action to reduce immigration en- forcement; Whereas, on January 20, 2021, the President’s administra- tion unilaterally ordered a ‘‘100-day pause’’ on the re- moval of any alien with a final order of removal pending DHS review; Whereas the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas initially issued a Temporary Restraining Order against the President’s ‘‘100-day pause’’; Whereas the Court stated the statute ‘‘does not imply total discretion to pause or suspend a statutory mandate’’; Whereas the same Court followed with a preliminary injunc- tion pending a final ruling; Whereas the ‘‘100-day pause’’ would suspend action against more than 1 million aliens subject to final orders of re- moval; Whereas in 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Cir- cuit held the Obama Administration’s planned expansion of its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to cover a broad category of persons was unlaw- ful; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR493.IH HR493 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 493 IH Whereas in 2018 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas during a hearing challenging the legal- ity of DACA stated that DACA was likely unlawful and that DHS may defer removal in specific cases and that exercising discretion to a large class of aliens contravenes the INA’s statutory scheme; Whereas, on January 20, 2021, the President issued a Memorandum for the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security ‘‘to preserve and fortify DACA’’; Whereas in January 2020, the nonpartisan Government Ac- countability Office (GAO) issued a legal opinion finding ‘‘faithful execution of the law does not permit the Presi- dent to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law’’; Whereas GAO found further that the previous administra- tion’s temporary withholding of foreign aid funds was not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act; Whereas President Biden may have violated the Impound- ment Control Act, in directing that no funds Congress had appropriated to build the border wall would be spent on building the wall; Whereas, on February 5, 2021, the President suspended agreements with certain Central American countries re- sulting in a massive surge of people at the southern bor- der claiming asylum; Whereas, on February 18, 2021, the President began allow- ing criminal aliens with felony records to remain in the United States; Whereas the President threatens to ensure an immigration crisis continues at the southern border by offering am- nesty to millions of illegal aliens; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR493.IH HR493 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 493 IH Whereas more than 180,000 illegal immigrants were appre- hended by Border Patrol in May 2021; Whereas one year ago under President Trump, there were 1,400 unaccompanied minors in Department of Health and Human Services custody, and now under President Biden there are 22,000; Whereas Alejandro Mayorkas took an oath to defend and se- cure our country and uphold the U.S. Constitution when he was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on February 2; Whereas in more than four months, Secretary Mayorkas has failed to faithfully uphold his oath and has instead pre- sided over a reckless abandonment of border security and immigration law enforcement, at the expense of the U.S. Constitution and security of the United States; and Whereas the President has endangered the America people: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) calls on the President to remove Alejandro 2 Mayorkas as Secretary of the Department of Home- 3 land Security and replace him with leadership that 4 will prioritize the security of the United States and 5 faithfully enforce the laws enacted by Congress; 6 (2) disapproves of the President’s usurpation of 7 the legislative power of Congress in his withholding 8 of duly appropriated funding for the southern border 9 wall; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR493.IH HR493 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 493 IH (3) calls on the President to employ all lawful 1 means to enforce the immigration laws of the United 2 States; 3 (4) calls on the President to ensure the faithful 4 execution of the immigration laws of the United 5 States; 6 (5) reaffirms that the preservation of the Con- 7 stitution’s separation of powers is essential for the 8 protection of individual liberty and the maintenance 9 of the rule of law; and 10 (6) censures the President for his failure to 11 ‘‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’’ as 12 required by the Constitution. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR493.IH HR493 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS