Blog - Question of the Week: Do You Support the Federal Judge's Ruling Halting the President's Executive Actions on Immigration?

Statement

This week, Judge Andrew S. Hanen, of Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in Brownsville, issued an injunction temporarily halting the Administration's sweeping executive actions on immigration, noting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary is "not just rewriting the laws; he is creating them from scratch." Additionally, Judge Hanen argued the Administration's programs would impose substantial burdens on states and states' budgets.

This injunction was issued in response to a federal lawsuit filed by 26 states, challenging the constitutionality of President Obama's immigration actions. These executive actions were announced in November 2014, when President Obama proclaimed he would unilaterally allow approximately four million unlawful immigrants to stay and work in the United States, without a vote of Congress -- despite having stated over 20 times that he does not have the constitutional authority to change our immigration laws unilaterally.

In December, Congressman Forbes joined the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) in filing an amicus brief in this lawsuit, arguing that the Administration's executive action on immigration, at the admission of the President, "changes the law and sets new policy, exceeding the Defendants' constitutional authority and disrupting the delicate balance of powers."

This week's ruling on the lawsuit was handed down just days before thousands of illegal immigrants were set to begin applying for legal protection and work permits under the Administration's executive actions. According to Administration officials, the expansion, which was set to begin on Wednesday, has now been indefinitely postponed to comply with the federal judge's order. The President has vowed to appeal the injunction, and expressed confidence in the success of the appeal, stating: "The law is on our side, and history is on our side."

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