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Judge Approves Injunction Against Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

3 minute read
Updated: | Originally published: ;

A South Texas judge has ordered an injunction on U.S. President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration that permitted millions of undocumented immigrants to stay in the country.

“The court finds that the government’s failure to secure the border has exacerbated illegal immigration into this country,” the opinion by U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen reads.

The 26 states that sued the federal government say the lawsuit isn’t about immigration, but “rule of law, presidential power, and the structural limits of the U.S. Constitution.”

The plaintiffs argued Obama’s orders, which would spare up to 5 million people who are currently in the U.S. illegally from deportation, unlawfully suspended the nation’s immigration laws and stopping the order is the only way to protect them from further damage.

The states, which include Texas, North Carolina, and Alabama, also said the federal government’s actions are to blame for last summer’s crisis of droves of minors traveling across the southwestern border unaccompanied.

The Texas Attorney General’s office said on Twitter that the injunction is a “victory for the rule of law and a crucial first step in reigning in [Obama’s] lawlessness.”

In his order, Judge Hanen, a 2002 appointee of President George W. Bush, prevented any implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, until a resolution is reached or the court decides otherwise.

The Judge’s order gives a coalition of 26 states the opportunity to pursue a lawsuit that would permanently halt the President’s orders. Hanen ordered the parties to come to an agreement on the issue by Feb. 27, when they will be required to submit a schedule for its resolution.

In a statement issued early Tuesday, the White House said the President was well within his rights when he established the new immigration rules.

“The Supreme Court and Congress have made it clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigrations laws—which is exactly what the President did,” the statement reads. “The district court’s decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect.”

According to the White House, the Department of Justice plans to appeal the judge’s decision.

Read next: Boehner: Senate Democrats Are to Blame If Homeland Security Shuts Down

Photos: Documenting Immigration From Both Sides of the Border

Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
A woman and her child from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande, Hidalgo, Texas, June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Women and children from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande, Hidalgo, Texas, June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Border Patrol Agents respond to a call near a section of the border fence in Hidalgo, Texas on Feb. 13, 2013. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Border Patrol vehicles respond to a call on the banks of the Rio Grande in Hidalgo, Texas on June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
The old border fence where scouts watch for border patrol activity and aid drug or migrant traffickers in Tijuana, Mexico, Feb. 14, 2013. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
A border patrol vehicle on the remote terrain along the border in Southern California, east of San Diego, Feb. 15, 2013. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Border Patrol agents patrol the floodplain along the banks of the Rio Grande, south of Mission, Texas on Feb. 13, 2013. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Border Patrol agents patrol the thick brush along the banks of the Rio Grande south of Mission, Texas on Feb. 13, 2013. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Women and children from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande into Hidalgo, Texas on June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Women and children from Central America are apprehended just after crossing the Rio Grande into Hidalgo, Texas on June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
The belongings of women and children apprehended after crossing the Rio Grande into Texas, collected and bagged by Border Patrol, Hidalgo, Texas, June 24, 2014. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
Migrants run from a gap in the border fence to a waiting car in the early morning in Penitas, Texas, Feb. 14, 2013. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
An aerial of jeep trails in the United States (bottom), in an area that was once a popular crossing point into the United States from Tijuana, Mexico (top), Feb. 15, 2013. Kirsten Luce
Immigration Border Crossing Mexico Kirsten Luce
The westernmost edge of the border extends into the Pacific Ocean separating Tijuana, Mexico and California.Kirsten Luce

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com