Hours after a federal judge in Texas put a temporary hold on the President's recent executive actions on immigration, the Obama Administration reluctantly delayed the start of its implementation work, which had been scheduled to start on February 18.
"I strongly disagree with Judge Hanen's decision," said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, even as he acknowledged that the feds must comply with the temporary injunction issued late on Tuesday night.
"Accordingly, the Department of Homeland Security will not begin accepting requests for the expansion of DACA tomorrow, February 18, as originally planned," Johnson added in a statement, as he defended the President's immigration changes.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
"The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts and even other courts have said that our actions are well within our legal authority," Johnson said.
Events were moving so quickly inside the Obama Administration that the Department of Homeland Security's website was still touting February 18 as the start of expanded DACA applications:
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
By later on Tuesday afternoon, that language about February 18 had been wiped from the USCIS website:
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
As for the next step in the legal battle over the President's executive actions on immigration, a spokesman for Attorney General Eric Holder said the feds would certainly ask a higher court to get involved - but it wasn't clear exactly what would happen.
"We're still in the process of looking at the opinion and deciding what steps to take next," said Holder at the National Press Club, who emphasized that it was just one judge who had ruled against the Obama Administration.
"I've always expected that this is a matter that will be decided by a higher court, if not the Supreme Court," Holder added.
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