By Miriam Raftery
February 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – A federal judge in Texas has issued a preliminary injunction blocking President Obama’s executive actions on immigration from being implemented, while a lawsuit filed by Texas and 25 other states works its way through the courts.
The suit claims the President overreached his constitutional authority by taking executive actions to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Now eligible immigrants who were set to apply for new programs starting February 18th will be unable to do so. One program would allow undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to stay here and work legally. Another would offer similar protections for parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
Countering the 12 states that filed the lawsuit seeking to overturn the President’s executive orders, attorneys general from 12 other states and the District of Columbia had signed an amicus brief asking the judge not to issue the injunction.
Attorneys general from 12 states and the District of Columbia signed onto an amicus brief in support of Obama's actions, asking the judge not to issue an injunction.
The judge has not issued a ruling on whether or not the President’s actions are legal or not, which will be up to another judge hearing the lawsuit in the future to decide.
The ruling could have an impact in Congress, where Republicans have been blocking a funding bill for Homeland Security unless Obama’s immigrant reforms were repealed. Now some analysts president Republicans may pass the bill since a judge has blocked the President’s executive orders, at least until the outcome of the lawsuit or a ruling by an appellate court.
The White House has indicated that the Obama decision will appeal the ruling, issuing a statement which reads in part, "The district court's decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect and the Department of Justice has indicated that it will appeal that decision."
The judge’s decision leaves millions of undocumented immigrants and their families in limbo, forced to remain in the shadows for the foreseeable future.
Comments
You're correct.
How Many States?