Senators Weigh In on Immigration, The Constitution, and Obama’s Executive Order

On November 20, President Obama announced his intention to execute an Executive Order potentially offering deferred deportation for nearly five million illegal immigrants. Since that time, opposing forces have challenged the constitutionality of such actions. Perhaps the most significant challenge is a federal lawsuit filed by nearly 20 states. In it, they allege violations of Article 2 Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Administrative Procedure Act. On this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host J. Craig Williams interviews former United States Senator Byron Dorgan and current New Mexico State Senator Steven Neville. Also participating by pre-recorded interview is current Texas State Senator José Rodríguez. Together, they discuss the constitutionality of President Obama’s recent actions on immigration as well as the viability of the federal suit filed by the various states. Tune in to hear opposing views on the separation of families, burdens on the social welfare system, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

If you find this topic interesting, you may also want to listen to an earlier show about unaccompanied minor immigrants titled “Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants: Push and Pull Factors of Immigration”.

Former US Senator Byron L. Dorgan served as a Congressman and Senator for North Dakota for 30 years before retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2011. He served in the Senate Leadership for 16 years and was Chairman of Senate Committees and Subcommittees on the issues of Energy, Aviation, Appropriations, Water Policy, and Indian Affairs. Today, Senator Dorgan is a senior policy advisor at Arent Fox where he co-chairs the firm’s government relations practice. In addition, he is a visiting professor at Georgetown University lecturing on energy and environmental issues as well as a Senior Fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in Washington DC.

New Mexico State Senator Steven Neville is currently serving District 2 and has been in the New Mexico State Senate since 2004. Prior to that he served as County Commissioner in San Juan County from 1997 to 2004, the City Commission of the City of Aztec from 1995-1996, and County Chairman for the San Juan Republican Party from 1990-1991. Senator Neville has been self-employed with his own company, N-Vest, Inc., a real estate consulting and investment organization since 1985.

Texas State Senator José Rodríguez represents District 29 which includes the counties of El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis, and Presidio. He represents both urban and rural constituencies, and more than 350 miles of the Texas-Mexico border. Senator Rodríguez currently serves as the Chairman of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, Vice Chairman of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee, and a member of the Senate Committees on Criminal Justice, Veteran Affairs and Military Installations, and Government Organization.

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