With President Obama's unilateral granting of amnesty to roughly 1 million illegal aliens, he has made his contempt for the rule of law undeniable.

Congress has not acted as he believes it should to legalize people who are in the United States unlawfully and who are taking jobs from U.S. citizens and consuming costly social services. So, Obama simply has imposed his will on an unwilling nation.

Brooking no disagreement, he declared that "It's the right thing to do, period. We are a better nation than one that expels innocent young kids."

With all due respect, Mr. Obama, we are a better nation than one where a president sworn to uphold the Constitution takes it upon himself to override the wishes of the people as expressed through their elected members of Congress.

There was such a public furor when Democrats and Republicans alike tried to pass misnamed "comprehensive immigration reform" in 2007 that the legislative effort collapsed under the combined weight of its absurdity and unpopularity. And, in fact, the American people have made it clear they do not believe that declaring illegal aliens legal -- whether by fiat or by legislation -- is the right path for our nation to take.

Obama would like to frame the issue as one of his supposedly humane policy prescriptions versus a draconian roundup and deportation of millions of illegal aliens.

That's nonsense. We know what will happen if we start saying many of those who are here illegally may remain and receive work permits: Whatever the precise details of this latest amnesty scheme, millions more around the globe will see a renewed incentive to slip into our country illegally or to overstay their visas when they visit.

And realistically, few voices are calling for a massive roundup of the 11 million to 20 million illegal aliens now in the United States. There is no need for such a thing. If laws forbidding the hiring of illegal immigrants are enforced and illegal aliens are denied all but emergency taxpayer-funded benefits, a great many of them will deport themselves because they will lack a source of income here.

That is humane, and it upholds the rule of law.

But Obama seems to believe the law should be exactly what he says it is, according to his personal views -- which, at least so far as illegal immigration is concerned, are in jarring contrast to the views of the American people.

His willingness to ignore the constitutional separation of powers is vastly more alarming than even his appalling actions on this specific issue. In the months remaining before what we fervently hope will be his resounding defeat, he can cause immeasurable harm to the very idea that ours is a nation of laws, not of men. And that's to say nothing of what awaits America if he is re-elected and believes that he has public approval for his executive branch overreach.

Katy, bar the door. And seal the border while you're at it.