Smith to Administration: Enforce the Law, Don't Ignore It

Washington, D.C. - Recently, officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called off the deportation of an illegal immigrant who is married to his same-sex partner in the United States.  This decision follows U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s instruction to an immigration court to ignore the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in future rulings. Earlier this year, the Justice Department abandoned its obligation to defend DOMA, a federal law enacted by Congress and signed by President Clinton to protect the institution of marriage.

Following ICE’s decisions, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the Administration’s decision.

Chairman Smith:  “It appears that if the Obama administration doesn’t like some laws, they just ignore them.  Not only has the Administration abandoned its responsibility to defend the Defense of Marriage Act - the law of the land - they are now making decisions as if DOMA doesn’t exist.  These sort of actions give the impression that the Obama administration doesn’t care what the law says and will do anything to achieve their policy preferences.

“Americans respect the rule of law and expect public officials to enforce the law and abide by it.  When will the Obama administration stop putting politics above their responsibility to enforce the law?”