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WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a bill Friday to overturn President Barack Obama's executive order to protect 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. Paul's bill is a companion to one passed in the House by Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., which passed the House last week with a 219-197 vote.
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The bill, called the Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act," is intended to prohibit the president from using executive power to determine which undocumented immigrants to deport.
"I believe that the Constitution is clear that the legislative power resides in Congress. The President is not a king and he does not have the power to enact laws then execute his own laws. Our Constitution is being violated by this executive order and other actions by the Obama Administration to govern by executive fiat," Paul said in statement on his website.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tried to enact a partial shutdown of the government by preventing passage of the bill to fund the government if the order was not overturned.
"Both Democrats and Republicans will have the opportunity to show America whether they stand with a president who is defying the will of the voters or with the millions of Americans who want a safe and legal immigration system," Cruz said on the Senate floor Saturday.
Cruz and other far-right Republican's push for the Senate to stay over the weekend not only failed in shutting down the government -- the $1.1 trillion spending bill passed Saturday night -- but gave outgoing Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a chance to marathon confirmations for the president's nominations through the Senate.
The spending bill funds the government until September save for the Department of Homeland Security, which will run out of funding in a few months, a stipulation inserted in the bill to prevent the implementation of the executive order.
Even if the bill passes both chambers of Congress in the 114th Congress, Obama will most likely veto the bill.
