MOSCOW, November 20 (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama is expected to outline a plan using executive action to fix the "broken immigration system" in the United States on Thursday evening, drawing immediate criticism from Republicans.
Ahead of the President's announcement, Republicans have called the reforms unconstitutional and his behavior as a president reminiscent of "a monarch."
"It is lawless. It is unconstitutional," said junior US senator and possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate from Texas Ted Cruz, as quoted by The Telegraph. "He is defiant and angry at the American people. If he acts by executive diktat, President Obama will not be acting as a president, he will be acting as a monarch."
Michael Steel, spokesman for Republican House Speaker John Boehner, in a statement cited by Business Insider, condemned the immigration plan of "Emperor Obama," saying that the US president's actions would "cement his legacy of lawlessness" and "ruin the chances for Congressional action on the issue."
The Weekly Standard reported that Senator Jeff Sessions called Obama "Emperor of the United States", as the president was acting independently, and said that Obama's immigration order would allow illegal immigrants to take jobs that could otherwise be taken by American citizens.
"Congress must not allow this unconstitutional action. That means Congress should fund the government while ensuring that no funds can be spent on this unlawful purpose," Sessions said.
Representative from Ohio Steve Stivers was quoted by Time as saying that suing the president was an option but Republicans were searching for other ways out of the situation.
On Wednesday, Obama said he would outline a plan using executive action to repair a "broken" US immigration system on Thursday.
Earlier this month, the US president said he would do everything legally possible through executive action to improve the country's immigration system, while Republicans stressed that it would go as far as impeaching the president if he used his executive authority in any attempt to reform US immigration policy.
According to US media reports, some five million undocumented immigrants in the United States, around 40 percent of the nation's 11.7 million total unauthorized immigrant population, could be granted legal status and provided with work permits if Obama succeeds in taking executive action on immigration.
