President Barack Obama is rejecting the message of voters from the midterm elections by pushing an "executive amnesty" that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay and work in the U.S., said Sen. John Barrasso.
"My concern is that the president is ignoring the American people. He's rejecting what the voters said just a little over a week ago. And, it's not an executive order. It's executive amnesty," the Wyoming Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
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Obama said he intended to use executive action to make changes to the nation's immigration system, and the White House indicated that he could announce the plan as early as next week.
The move angered Republicans in Congress, coming as it did just a week after lawmakers met with him for lunch at the White House to
talk about developing a bipartisan relationship.
Voters sent a clear message in the midterm elections that they expected Congress and the White house to "cooperate, work together, find common ground," Barrasso said, adding he thought Obama was "premature in his actions right now" on the immigration issue.
Barrasso said immigration reforms were needed, starting with "border security and enforcement."
Should Obama use executive order to make changes to the immigration system, he said Congress would "take every legislative approach we can to reverse what the president may be trying to do here."
Americans who felt Obama should not act unilaterally on immigration should let their concerns be heard by "calling the White House, calling your senator's office, and saying you oppose this level of executive action, which is executive amnesty," Barrasso said.
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