House set to rebuff Obama's executive actions on immigration

Nov. 21, 2014: House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio responds to President Barack Obama's intention to spare millions of illegal immigrants from being deported, a use of executive powers that is setting up a fight with Republicans in Congress over the limits of presidential powers (AP)

House Republicans are preparing to rebuff President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, with a vote on legislation that would declare the actions “null and void and without legal effect.”

The legislation will mostly be perceived as a message because it is unlikely to pass through the Senate.

Instead, its passage Thursday would set the stage for the real showdown over legislation to keep the government running past Dec. 11, when a current funding measure expires. Conservatives are demanding language in the spending bill that would block Obama's move to defer deportations and grant work permits to more than 4 million immigrants here illegally.

Republican leaders fear such spending-bill language could court an Obama veto and even a government shutdown -- something they're determined to avoid after their resounding midterm election victories last month left them with a desire to show voters they can govern responsibly.

The Ted Yoho bill is part of House GOP leadership's two-part strategy to appease conservative immigration hardliners incensed about Obama's moves on immigration. The hope was that after registering their disapproval of Obama's executive actions with a vote on Yoho's bill -- which says Obama is acting "without any constitutional or statutory basis" -- Republicans would move on next week to vote on legislation to keep most of the government running for a year, with a shorter time frame for the Homeland Security Department, which oversees immigration.

However, some believe the bill does not go far enough. Some conservatives insist on strict spending-language to strip money for Obama’s move.

"We aren't, with our vote, going to give him one dime to execute his illegal action, and we believe the American people are going to stand with us," said Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

The bill intends to put on record, the House’s indifference to the executive actions on immigration that would halt deportation for nearly five millions illegal immigrants.

The Associated Press contributed to this report