text: As we await the President's speech tonight with regard to executive amnesty, I thought it would be useful to read a bit of what he has said in the past on the subject. Toward that end, the Speaker's office circulated the list below, and I thought you might find it of interest:  ?ÛÏI take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that we?Ûªre facing right now have to do with [the president] trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that?Ûªs what I intend to reverse when I?Ûªm President of the United States of America.?Û? (3/31/08)  ?ÛÏWe?Ûªve got a government designed by the Founders so that there?Ûªd be checks and balances. You don?Ûªt want a president who?Ûªs too powerful or a Congress that?Ûªs too powerful or a court that?Ûªs too powerful. Everybody?Ûªs got their own role. Congress?Ûªs job is to pass legislation. The president can veto it or he can sign it. ?Û_ I believe in the Constitution and I will obey the Constitution of the United States. We're not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end-run around Congress.?Û? (5/19/08)  ?ÛÏComprehensive reform, that's how we're going to solve this problem. ?Û_ Anybody who tells you it's going to be easy or that I can wave a magic wand and make it happen hasn't been paying attention to how this town works.?Û? (5/5/10)  ?ÛÏ[T]here are those in the immigrants?Ûª rights community who have argued passionately that we should simply provide those who are [here] illegally with legal status, or at least ignore the laws on the books and put an end to deportation until we have better laws. ... I believe such an indiscriminate approach would be both unwise and unfair. It would suggest to those thinking about coming here illegally that there will be no repercussions for such a decision. And this could lead to a surge in more illegal immigration. And it would also ignore the millions of people around the world who are waiting in line to come here legally. Ultimately, our nation, like all nations, has the right and obligation to control its borders and set laws for residency and citizenship.  And no matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these laws should be held accountable.?Û? (7/1/10)  ?ÛÏI do have an obligation to make sure that I am following some of the rules. I can't simply ignore laws that are out there. I've got to work to make sure that they are changed.?Û? (10/14/10)  ?ÛÏI am president, I am not king. I can't do these things just by myself. We have a system of government that requires the Congress to work with the Executive Branch to make it happen. I'm committed to making it happen, but I've got to have some partners to do it. ?Û_ The main thing we have to do to stop deportations is to change the laws. ?Û_ [T]he most important thing that we can do is to change the law because the way the system works ?ÛÒ again, I just want to repeat, I'm president, I'm not king. If Congress has laws on the books that says that people who are here who are not documented have to be deported, then I can exercise some flexibility in terms of where we deploy our resources, to focus on people who are really causing problems as a opposed to families who are just trying to work and support themselves. But there's a limit to the discretion that I can show because I am obliged to execute the law. That's what the Executive Branch means. I can't just make the laws up by myself. So the most important thing that we can do is focus on changing the underlying laws.?Û? (10/25/10)  ?ÛÏAmerica is a nation of laws, which means I, as the President, am obligated to enforce the law. I don't have a choice about that. That's part of my job. But I can advocate for changes in the law so that we have a country that is both respectful of the law but also continues to be a great nation of immigrants. ?Û_ With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that?Ûªs just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed ?Û_. [W]e?Ûªve got three branches of government. Congress passes the law. The executive branch?Ûªs job is to enforce and implement those laws. And then the judiciary has to interpret the laws. There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as President.?Û? (3/28/11)  ?ÛÏI can't solve this problem by myself. ?Û_ [W]e're going to have to have bipartisan support in order to make it happen. ?Û_ I can't do it by myself. We're going to have to change the laws in Congress, but I'm confident we can make it happen.?Û? (4/20/11)  ?ÛÏI know some here wish that I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself.  But that?Ûªs not how democracy works.  See, democracy is hard.  But it?Ûªs right. Changing our laws means doing the hard work of changing minds and changing votes, one by one.?Û? (4/29/11)  ?ÛÏSometimes when I talk to immigration advocates, they wish I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that?Ûªs not how a democracy works. What we really need to do is to keep up the fight to pass genuine, comprehensive reform. That is the ultimate solution to this problem. That's what I?Ûªm committed to doing.?Û? (5/10/11)  ?ÛÏI swore an oath to uphold the laws on the books ?Û_. Now, I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own. Believe me, the idea of doing things on my own is very tempting. I promise you. Not just on immigration reform. But that's not how our system works. That?Ûªs not how our democracy functions. That's not how our Constitution is written.?Û? (7/25/11)  ?ÛÏSo what we?Ûªve tried to do is within the constraints of the laws on the books, we?Ûªve tried to be as fair, humane, just as we can, recognizing, though, that the laws themselves need to be changed. ?Û_ The most important thing for your viewers and listeners and readers to understand is that in order to change our laws, we?Ûªve got to get it through the House of Representatives, which is currently controlled by Republicans, and we?Ûªve got to get 60 votes in the Senate. ?Û_ Administratively, we can't ignore the law. ?Û_ I just have to continue to say this notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true.  We are doing everything we can administratively.  But the fact of the matter is there are laws on the books that I have to enforce.  And I think there?Ûªs been a great disservice done to the cause of getting the DREAM Act passed and getting comprehensive immigration passed by perpetrating the notion that somehow, by myself, I can go and do these things.  It?Ûªs just not true. ?Û_ We live in a democracy.  You have to pass bills through the legislature, and then I can sign it.  And if all the attention is focused away from the legislative process, then that is going to lead to a constant dead-end. We have to recognize how the system works, and then apply pressure to those places where votes can be gotten and, ultimately, we can get this thing solved.?Û? (9/28/11)  In June 2012, President Obama unilaterally granted deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA), allowing ?ÛÏeligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety ?Û_ to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.?Û? He then argued that he had already done everything he could legally do on his own:  ?ÛÏNow, what I?Ûªve always said is, as the head of the executive branch, there?Ûªs a limit to what I can do. Part of the reason that deportations went up was Congress put a whole lot of money into it, and when you have a lot of resources and a lot more agents involved, then there are going to be higher numbers. What we?Ûªve said is, let?Ûªs make sure that you?Ûªre not misdirecting those resources. But we?Ûªre still going to, ultimately, have to change the laws in order to avoid some of the heartbreaking stories that you see coming up occasionally. And that?Ûªs why this continues to be a top priority of mine. ?Û_ And we will continue to make sure that how we enforce is done as fairly and justly as possible. But until we have a law in place that provides a pathway for legalization and/or citizenship for the folks in question, we?Ûªre going to continue to be bound by the law. ?Û_ And so part of the challenge as President is constantly saying, ?Û÷what authorities do I have??Ûª?Û? (9/20/12)  ?ÛÏWe are a nation of immigrants. ?Û_ But we're also a nation of laws. So what I've said is, we need to fix a broken immigration system. And I've done everything that I can on my own[.]?Û? (10/16/12)  ?ÛÏI'm not a king. I am the head of the executive branch of government. I'm required to follow the law. And that's what we've done. But what I've also said is, let's make sure that we're applying the law in a way that takes into account people's humanity. That's the reason that we moved forward on deferred action. Within the confines of the law we said, we have some discretion in terms of how we apply this law.?Û? (1/30/13)  ?ÛÏI?Ûªm not a king. You know, my job as the head of the executive branch ultimately is to carry out the law.  And, you know, when it comes to enforcement of our immigration laws, we?Ûªve got some discretion. We can prioritize what we do. But we can?Ûªt simply ignore the law. When it comes to the dreamers, we were able to identify that group and say, ?Û÷These folks are generally not a risk. They?Ûªre not involved in crime. ?Û_ And so let?Ûªs prioritize our enforcement resources.?Ûª But to sort through all the possible cases of everybody who might have a sympathetic story to tell is very difficult to do. This is why we need comprehensive immigration reform. To make sure that once and for all, in a way that is, you know, ratified by Congress, we can say that there is a pathway to citizenship for people who are staying out of trouble, who are trying to do the right thing, who?Ûªve put down roots here. ?Û_ My job is to carry out the law. And so Congress gives us a whole bunch of resources. They give us an order that we?Ûªve got to go out there and enforce the laws that are on the books.  ?Û_ If this was an issue that I could do unilaterally I would have done it a long time ago. ?Û_ The way our system works is Congress has to pass legislation. I then get an opportunity to sign it and implement it.?Û? (1/30/13)  ?ÛÏThis is something I?Ûªve struggled with throughout my presidency. The problem is that I?Ûªm the president of the United States, I?Ûªm not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed. And Congress right now has not changed what I consider to be a broken immigration system. And what that means is that we have certain obligations to enforce the laws that are in place even if we think that in many cases the results may be tragic.?Û? (2/14/13)  ?ÛÏI think that it is very important for us to recognize that the way to solve this problem has to be legislative. I can do some things and have done some things that make a difference in the lives of people by determining how our enforcement should focus. ?Û_ And we?Ûªve been able to provide help through deferred action for young people ?Û_. But this is a problem that needs to be fixed legislatively.?Û? (7/16/13)  ?ÛÏMy job in the executive branch is supposed to be to carry out the laws that are passed. Congress has said ?Û÷here is the law?Ûª when it comes to those who are undocumented, and they've allocated a whole bunch of money for enforcement. And, what I have been able to do is to make a legal argument that I think is absolutely right, which is that given the resources that we have, we can't do everything that Congress has asked us to do. What we can do is then carve out the DREAM Act folks, saying young people who have basically grown up here are Americans that we should welcome. ?Û_ But if we start broadening that, then essentially I would be ignoring the law in a way that I think would be very difficult to defend legally. So that's not an option. ?Û_ What I've said is there is a there's a path to get this done, and that's through Congress.?Û? (9/17/13)  ?ÛÏ[I]f, in fact, I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so. But we?Ûªre also a nation of laws. That?Ûªs part of our tradition. And so the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws. And what I?Ûªm proposing is the harder path, which is to use our democratic processes to achieve the same goal that you want to achieve. ?Û_ It is not simply a matter of us just saying we?Ûªre going to violate the law. That?Ûªs not our tradition. The great thing about this country is we have this wonderful process of democracy, and sometimes it is messy, and sometimes it is hard, but ultimately, justice and truth win out.?Û? (11/25/13)  ?ÛÏI am the Champion-in-Chief of comprehensive immigration reform. But what I?Ûªve said in the past remains true, which is until Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of what I am able to do. What I?Ûªve done is to use my prosecutorial discretion, because you can?Ûªt enforce the laws across the board for 11 or 12 million people, there aren?Ûªt the resources there.  What we?Ûªve said is focus on folks who are engaged in criminal activity, focus on people who are engaged in gang activity. Do not focus on young people, who we?Ûªre calling DREAMers ?Û_. That already stretched my administrative capacity very far. But I was confident that that was the right thing to do. But at a certain point the reason that these deportations are taking place is, Congress said, ?Û÷you have to enforce these laws.?Ûª They fund the hiring of officials at the department that?Ûªs charged with enforcing.  And I cannot ignore those laws any more than I could ignore, you know, any of the other laws that are on the books. That?Ûªs why it?Ûªs so important for us to get comprehensive immigration reform done this year.?Û? (3/6/14)  ?ÛÏI think that I never have a green light [to push the limits of executive power].  I?Ûªm bound by the Constitution; I?Ûªm bound by separation of powers.  There are some things we can?Ûªt do. Congress has the power of the purse, for example. ?Û_ Congress has to pass a budget and authorize spending. So I don?Ûªt have a green light. ?Û_ My preference in all these instances is to work with Congress, because not only can Congress do more, but it?Ûªs going to be longer-lasting.?Û? (8/6/14)