But, sadly, the Constitution does give him that right in Article II, Section 2 with the following words regarding presidential powers:
...shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment".Further, as Wikipedia notes:
The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this language to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, remissions of fines and forfeitures, respites, and amnesties.So, what he is basically doing is pardoning millions of immigrants of the crime against the United States for entering the country illegally. As a Constitutional law professor, Obama had to have known this all along. Yet for nearly 6 years, he claimed he didn't have to the constitutional right to stop deportations because he didn't have the power to override immigration laws that were already on the books. This is true, but he only said that to delay using his executive pardon power until such time as it would no longer affect his reelection, or the election/reelection of any Democratic members of Congress. For that reason, Latinos should really be upset with the President.
Lastly. Because the President has this right, his action will never be challenged in the courts. As a result, the amnesty will never be reversed; even by future Republican presidents. Pardons are forever. That, then, brings us to this question...are people who are legally free to reside here now eligible for citizenship? Personally, I just don't know.
References:
Pardon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon#Federal_law
22 Times President Obama Said He Couldn’t Ignore or Create His Own Immigration Law: http://www.speaker.gov/general/22-times-president-obama-said-he-couldn-t-ignore-or-create-his-own-immigration-law
Video: Obama In March 2011: Can't Stop Deportations Through Executive Order: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfZ3kaKZoIw
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