Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

So this happened.

A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked President Obama’s executive action on immigration that protected as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation — a move that is garnering praise from Republicans who believe the president has acted outside the law.

The action initially drew opposition from 26 states across the nation.

On Monday night, United States District Judge Andrew Hanen ruled to block the executive action, claiming that the president’s administration failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, “which calls for the White House to afford a longer notification and comment period before taking action” according to CNN.

But the White House maintains the president acted within his “legal authority.”

“The district court’s decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect,” the White House said in a statement. “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.”

Republicans, who slammed the president’s decision last year and deemed it unconstitutional, are hailing Hanen’s rule.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who has championed efforts in Congress to undo Obama’s executive action, welcomed the news on Twitter, calling the decision a “HUGE victory for rule of law.”

Texas’s senior Sen. John Cornyn, also a Republican, said in a statement Tuesday that the ruling “reinforces” what he and other opponents have claimed, “that President Obama acted outside the law.”

“Today’s victory is an important one, but the fight to reverse the President’s unconstitutional overreach is not over,” Cornyn said. “The President must respect the rule of law and fully obey the court’s ruling.”

Since Obama’s action, the two parties have been battling over tying funding for the Department of Homeland Security to the immigration order. A decision is expected later this month.

Immigration activists have been vocal about the temporary halt, calling it a “bump in the road.”

“We’ve hit a speed bump on the road to the implementation of these programs, but folks should stay the course, get their documents ready, prepare to apply, because the programs will open their doors eventually,” said Karen Tumlin, Managing Attorney of the National Immigration Law Center.

Cristina Jimenez, managing director of United We Dream, insisted that the federal ruling would not stand and said Hanen, a conservative appointed by President George W. Bush,”has become known as an advocate for the harsh treatment of immigrant families.”

“Executive action protecting immigrant youth and parents is solid,” Jimenez said in a statement. “Judge Hanen’s ruling is not permanent and we are confident that it will be repealed in a higher court.”

For information about how the delay could affect families that might benefit from the executive action, visit unitedwedream.org.

SOURCE: CNNunitedwedream.org | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

The Face Of America: 15 Photos Of Immigration Protests You Need To See
0 photos