Alabama Republicans lead charge with multiple bills to block Obama's 'Executive Amnesty'

WASHINGTON, Ala. — Alabama congressmen Martha Roby (R-AL2) and Mo Brooks (R-AL5) have now joined congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL4) in filing bills aimed at rolling back President Obama’s immigration executive orders that gave de facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

In December, prior to Republicans taking control of the Senate, Congress passed the so called “CRomnibus,” funding the government through September, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which it only funded through Feb. 27.

In spite of opposition from staunch conservatives, backers of the bill said it put Republicans in a position to roll back the President’s immigration orders by waiting until the GOP assumed control of the Senate.

The three Alabama Republicans now hope to get their language attached to a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which could be taken up as soon as next week.

Aderholt’s bill is the most comprehensive of the three, coming in at over thirty pages, while Roby’s and Brooks’ bills are just a couple of pages long and more limited in scope.

A spokesperson for Roby said he did not believe Roby’s bill and Aderholt’s bill are competing with each other.

“To the contrary, I think it says a lot that two Appropriations committee members from Alabama both independently of each other filed defund immigration bills right off the bat,” he said. “Simply put, this bill seeks to present model language that can be used to block President Obama’s unilateral executive actions on immigration by specifically prohibiting federal funding from being used to implement them.”

The challenge for each of the Alabama members carrying bills will be to get their language attached to the larger appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security.

Aderholt was successful last summer in pulling off a similar maneuver on a border security bill. His staff worked through the Christmas holidays crafting the language for the current bill and are now rallying support behind the scenes.

Roby has a close relationship with House Leadership and has also already been pushing to have her language attached to the larger bill.

“I have spoken directly to the Majority Leader to impress upon our leadership that our Conference must be serious about addressing executive amnesty head on in a straightforward and meaningful way,” she said. “I know there will be a broad and dynamic debate about how to address executive amnesty, but let’s start the conversation right here. I believe this language gives us a great starting point for blocking executive amnesty by using the ‘power of the purse,’ so let’s go from here.”

Brooks’ bill, which has the backing of several staunchly conservative groups and and has already garnered 11 co-sponsors, focuses on fighting the President’s executive authority in the courts.

“The federal courts are best suited to determine if President Obama is exceeding his authority, and, if so, how to reverse it,” he said.