A federal judge in Texas has issued a temporary injunction against the recent immigration actions of President Obama, giving a group of states some extra time to pursue their argument that the move to defer the deportation of millions of people in the United States illegally was unconstitutional.
In an extended explanation of his order, Judge Andrew Hanen, made clear he sees the President's actions as more than just executive tinkering with current law.
"It represents a massive change in immigration practice, and will have a significant effect on, not only illegally-present immigrants, but also the nation's entire immigration scheme and the states who must bear the lion's share of its consequences," Hanen wrote.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
In a statement issued at 2:48 am, the White House denounced the legal move and predicted other courts would uphold the President's authority on immigration.
"The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws—which is exactly what the President did when he announced commonsense policies to help fix our broken immigration system," the White House said.
"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 White House Press Secretary added.
While the White House scoffed at the judge's ruling, Republicans in Congress were elated with the news.
"HUGE victory for the rule of law," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Twitter.
You can read the entire temporary injunction ruling here.
"Judge Hanen's decision rightly stops the President's overreach in its tracks," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
Hanen was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush. The Justice Department could go over his head to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to try to stop his temporary injunction.
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