“Mr. President, why do you favor foreign workers over Americans?” That was the obvious question Barack Obama refused to answer when a reporter, doing his job, sought an answer, rather than a canned teleprompter presentation.

That is, indeed, the question that begs for an answer. And Obama simply wouldn’t answer that question, not in the middle of his remarks or at the end of his statement or at any other time.

Obama announced Friday afternoon that he would grant amnesty to 800,000 young illegal aliens, instead of deporting them, as the law requires. No, he didn’t call it amnesty; he denied it was amnesty, but Americans recognize it as amnesty.

The 800,000 are aliens who were brought into the country in violation of U.S. law and have already been rewarded with a free elementary and secondary education paid for by the American taxpayers. Now Obama wants to reward them further by allowing them to stay in America, giving them work permits, driver’s licenses and other documents they lack.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that as many as 1.4 million aliens might be eligible for Obama’s new announcement. The big majority are Latinos, with about 70 percent born in Mexico.

The illegality of these young aliens living in our country is exceeded by the illegality of Obama’s action. Obviously, Obama thinks he, too, is above the law and can do by executive order what Congress has repeatedly refused to do.

As The New York Times delicately reported, “He did not consult with Congress.” Obama’s action is much more outrageous and devious than “not consulting.”

Congress has refused, year after year, to pass the legislation, colloquially known as the Dream Act, that would allow these young aliens to remain in America, take U.S. jobs and attend U.S. universities at preferential rates and/or even get financial aid. This is one more example of Obama thinking he can take action without the consent — indeed defying the opposition — of Congress and do what he wants anyway.

To take the measure of the Obama administration, we should refer to the unprecedented memo signed by the Attorneys General of nine states. It sets forth 21 instances when Obama or his administration has committed an unlawful or unconstitutional act.

Obama is not fooling anyone about his motives in unilaterally announcing that his administration will not deport these young illegals but will give them the benefits of the unpassed Dream Act. The Obama-friendly New York Times admitted that this is “a bluntly political move,” and “a clear play for a crucial voting bloc in states that will decide whether he gets another term. It also held the potential for considerable payoff.”

We all concede that Obama is playing politics for the Hispanic vote. But unless our elections are more fraudulent even than Republicans suspect, the beneficiaries of Obama’s decision will not be able to vote this November.

So what about youngsters of comparable ages who are American citizens who are eligible to vote this November? They are directly harmed by Obama’s political gambit.

According to a report from the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, U.S. citizens of ages comparable to Obama’s newly advantaged aliens face a discouraging situation and a bleak future. Only 1 in 6 is working full time and 3 out of 5 still live with their parents or other relatives.

In the high school classes of 2009-2011, only 16 percent got full-time jobs, and an additional 22 percent could get only part-time work. They won’t show up on election pollsters’ reports because a large number have had their phones disconnected.

These kids are pessimistic about America. More than half — 56 percent — of young people with only a high school diploma said their generation expects to have less financial success than their parents, and only 14 percent said they expect to do better than their parents.

Another big problem with Obama’s executive decision is that it jacks up the magnet to encourage millions more parents to bring more children into the U.S. illegally and enter them on the road to amnesty.

Supporters of Obama’s plan keep referring to “kids” as the beneficiaries of this amnesty. But the kids only have to be under the age of 30.

Obama’s action is especially damaging to 18-to-29 year-olds when compared to the last two summers. From April to May in 2010, the number of unemployed 18-to-29-year-old kids increased by 70,000; in the same months in 2011, they increased by 142,000; and in 2012, the number of unemployed 18-to-29-year-olds increased by 256,000.

So we’re back to the crucial question: President Obama, why do you favor foreign workers over Americans? Are you trying to create jobs for anybody except Americans?