Wednesday at a press conference marking the end of the U.S. Africa Leadership Summit, ABC News White House correspondent Jonathan Karl asked President Barack Obama whether he would use his executive power to grant work permits for millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States.
The president answered by using the humanitarian crisis of ten of thousands of unaccompanied minors as an excuse saying that will cause him to have to “allocate resources” and “make choices.”
Obama initially said, “I’m bound by the Constitution, and I’m bound by the separation of powers.”
But when Karl asked, “Do you believe you have the power to grant work permits?” Obama answered, “What I certainly recognize with respect to immigration reform — is we have a broken system. It’s under resourced and we have to make choices in terms of how we allocate personal and resources.”
The president said, “We are going to have to prioritize,” and he added, “That’s well within my discretion.”
Obama continued that until there is a comprehensive immigration reform law passed, “I’m going to have to make choices. That’s what I was elected to do.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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