House report: It's 'impossible' to defund Obama's immigration order
The House Appropriations Committee has concluded that it would be "impossible" to stop President Obama's executive action to curtail deportations, The Hill reports.
The committee, which handles federal spending matters, said in a statement that the agency affected by Obama's impending order is "entirely self-funded through the fees it collects on various immigration applications." Meaning, even if Republicans wanted to use Congress' power of the purse to negate Obama's order, they wouldn't be able to.
"Congress does not appropriate funds for any of its operations, including the issuance of immigration status or work permits, with the exception of the 'E-Verify' program," the committee wrote. "Therefore, the appropriations process cannot be used to 'defund' the agency."
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