Judge Andrew Napolitano appeared on Fox’s “The Kelly File” Monday, telling host Megyn Kelly that President Barack Obama’s planned executive amnesty would be illegal and “playing with constitutional fire.”
NAPOLITANO: When he suspends deportations and when he imposes his own conditions on those suspensions, he is effectively rewriting the law. And that violates his oath to enforce and uphold the law as it’s been written. The American people, the Congress and the courts need to know that we have a president who will enforce the law. When he says ‘I will not enforce the law because I don’t like it, or I’m impatient,’ that doesn’t wash under the Constitution.
…He can’t rewrite the law. All presidents have some discretion. We call it, as you know prosecutorial discretion. He can suspend some prosecutions because he wants to reallocate resources. But he cannot suspend a statute. And if he suspends the prosecutions of 5 million human beings under certain conditions that he made up, he is effectively rewriting the statute and the effect of his exercise of his discretion is the opposite of what the law commands.
…
KELLY: …At what point does he cross the clear line from discretion to completely ignoring his executive obligations to enforce the law?
NAPOLITANO: When he grossly abuses his discretion. And when the effect of his discretion is to suspend a statute or to have the opposite effect of what the statute commands, that is a gross abuse. He will be playing with constitutional fire if he does this.