Immigration Executive Action Lawsuit: Judge Andrew Hanen's Temporary Injunction Still In Effect, Calls For New Hearing
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen decided not to rule further from his temporary injunction blocking President Barack Obama's deferred action programs, which would affect nearly 4.9 million undocumented immigrants.
Hanen, the district court judge for the Southern District Of Texas' Brownsville Division, issued an order this week after the U.S. government requested he lift the temporary injunction, which would allow the Obama administration to carry on with the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs.
"Due to the seriousness of the matters discussed therein, the Court will not rule on any other pending motions until it is clear that these matters, if true, do not impact the pending matters or any rulings previously made by this Court," wrote Hanen.
Hanen announced a court hearing for March 19 at 1:30 p.m., local time, for U.S. government attorneys to explain why approximately 100,000 people were given three-year deferred action ahead of the judge's temporary injunction order.
As Latin Post reported, the Obama administration gave Hanen a deadline to lift the temporary injunction or the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will move forward with their appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The DOJ has not issued a commented following Hanen's latest decision.
Hanen was responsible for the temporary injunction, which he ruled on Feb. 16, two days before the expanded DACA rules were to go in effect. According to Hanen, the injunction was granted because the U.S. government did not comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires the White House to post notice in the Federal Register publication and issue a long notification and comment period prior to the actions taking effect. With the temporary injunction, the government cannot move forward with the deferred action programs.
The lawsuit has been led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and received support from 25 U.S. States including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Texas officials claimed Obama does not have the authority to issue the immigration executive action. Paxton said Obama's immigration executive action is a "blatant case of overreach and clear abuse of power."
Obama announced the expanded DACA and DAPA programs during a prime-time address on Nov. 20, 2014. His executive actions would help approximately 4.9 million undocumented immigrants to temporarily avoid deportation for three renewable years by applying for deferred action programs and providing the opportunity to obtain work permits, participating in the job market or continuing their education.
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
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