Respect for Binding Principles -

     Nuttle Report, 11.21.2014

Last night, the President of the United States announced an Executive Order that would grant special protection to a class of immigrants currently residing illegally inside the United States.  The number of persons affected by this Executive Order may exceed 5 million people.  The President argues that this is a limited action, only dealing with individuals who have lived in this country for five years, have committed no crimes, and are currently living here as productive, law abiding citizens.  

Law enforcement officers, and in particular sheriffs, are protesting this Order strenuously.  There has been no advice provided on how to execute law enforcement in dealing with such immigrants.  They don't carry papers certifying when they entered the country.  They're here illegally.  There may be ways to prove that they've been here for five years, but think of all of the processes that will have to be developed to adjudicate so many claims. How do authorities at the local level know that these people are productive and law abiding?  What about immigrants who have been here four years?  Will they be eligible next year?

Most debate surrounding this Executive Order has centered on the material point of whether or not such an action is constitutional in its circumvention of Congress and existing laws now on the books.  My report is produced for the purpose of stimulating debate about principles that unite us rather than policy that divides us.  It is important to first establish foundational principles that guide our country and our society for the good of the generations.  The political debate should be about priorities based on those principles and the determination of government policy to implement our priorities.

As previously reported, we have established a new website entitled The New Horizon Council ( http://www.newhorizoncouncil.com ).  The purpose of the New Horizon Council is to facilitate a conversation with America that is not being held today.  What are the principles that bind us rather than the policy that divides us?  The New Horizon Council has set out four pillars of principles that were originally addressed at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that produced our current Constitution.  They are: The Constitution, Economics, Government Facilitation, and Foreign Policy.  Simple axioms are listed for each principle to help frame the debate of priorities. You can find those on the website along with more detail.

The President's Executive Order challenges the second axiom of the principles of the Constitution.  That axiom is that states have rights on certain issues superior to the federal government.  I would argue that the more egregious breach of American principles by the President's Executive Order is that he has not taken into consideration states' rights to provide services to its citizens as they see fit.

The governor of my home state of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin, issued a statement last night questioning the legality of the President's actions and the undetermined costs to the states resulting in said immigrants becoming eligible for government services.  The Oklahoma Health Care Authority is already financially stressed in meeting its mission statement of providing health care to poor citizens.  It is unknown how many new applicants for health care will be generated by this Executive Order.  The President appears to have little sensitivity to the resulting application of his Executive Order, not only to the burden that may result to the states in increased costs, but also in reference to states' constitutional right for authority over those matters not expressly enumerated to the federal government by the Constitution.

The founding of the United States of America was an experiment in expanding freedom for all.  However, freedom for all means equal freedom for all, not freedom at the expense of someone else's freedom or rights.  Herein lies an example of the federal government advocating a policy without respect for principles or priorities.  The President's Executive Order is in direct violation of the second axiom of the principle of the Constitution.  His action divides us by pitting one group of people against another, rather than determining priorities and implementing policy tied to principles that bind us.  In such a framework of discussion, citizens can understand that any particular government action taken is to provide equal freedom to all.

My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.

What do you believe?