While nearly half of the U.S. states have filed the paperwork to sue President Barack Obama regarding his immigration executive actions, other states and Washington, D.C. have joined to support the deferred actions for undocumented immigrants.

Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine and fellow attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have called for a federal judge to uphold Obama's immigration executive actions, which he announced on Nov. 20.

According to the brief by the attorney general, Obama's latest executive actions "are consistent with a long pattern of presidential exercises of enforcement discretion within the bounds of immigration law to protect families and defer deportation."

The brief cites examples from previous presidents enacting their executive action privilege for immigration, including Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush deferring deportations for family members of immigrants who were in the process of obtaining legal status in the U.S., which reportedly impacted more than 40 percent of undocumented immigrants. President Bill Clinton was also featured for his deferred action for immigrant women and children who were abused by a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.

The attorneys general claim the lawsuit against Obama is "speculative and unsupported" and stated data proves immigrants -- if allowed to work legally -- provide substantial benefits to states.

Must Read: Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), Details on Who's Included & Excluded - What You Need To Know

"Plaintiffs are thus unable to show irreparable harm," stated the brief.

Racine, an immigrant from Haiti, said in a prepared statement, "We are proud to support the President's wise and lawful actions here to protect our immigrant families in the District and throughout the country."

Texas attorney general, and recently elected governor, Greg Abbott, has led the lawsuit against Obama's immigration executive action. He said, "The president's proposed executive decree violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, circumvents the will of the American people and is an affront to the families and individuals who follow our laws to legally immigrate to the United States."

The lawsuit by Texas includes support from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Obama's executive actions will provide temporary protections for the approximately 5 million eligible immigrants currently living in the U.S., specifically before Jan. 1, 2010, and pending a criminal background check and payment of fines and taxes.

Obama's executive action expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for applicants to seek a renewable three-year stay instead of two years. Parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been in the country since Jan. 1, 2010, can request deferred action and employment authorization for three years as part of the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and other agencies and offices, has been tasked to implement the initiatives Obama outlined during his November primetime address. Some initiatives could take several months to start.

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.