WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s plan to defer the deportation of nearly five million illegal immigrants in the United States:

“On November 4, the American people voted for a change in Washington. President Obama has an obligation to honor their decision, not take matters into his own hands because he disliked the result.

“This amnesty order undermines the rule of law and threatens our system of checks and balances. The President and his liberal allies in Washington have convinced themselves that we have an imminent deportation crisis. The reality is that we have a border security crisis.

“No president has the authority to act unilaterally in this manner – something that the courts will surely determine. In the coming months, the new Republican Congress will look to use the power of the purse and the judicial system to rein in this executive overreach.”