A federal judge in Texas on Monday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. government from enacting President Obama’s immigration policy to defer deportations for up to 5 million undocumented immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the Southern District of Texas temporarily blocked the federal government from implementing “any and all aspects” of the order, which protected millions of people in the country illegally from immediate deportation.
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Hanen’s ruling allows a lawsuit filed by Texas and 25 other states challenging Obama’s executive order to go forward. In his ruling, Hanen said the Obama administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
The preliminary injunction applies to the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent residents, better known as DAPA, and expansions to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, both of which Obama announced in November. The policy, part of which was set to go into effect on Wednesday, would grant work permits and defer deportation of undocumented immigrant parents of U.S. citizens who’ve been living in the U.S. since 2010. “This decision is a victory for the rule of law in America and a crucial first step in reining in President Obama’s lawlessness,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “This injunction makes it clear that the President is not a law unto himself, and must work with our elected leaders in Congress and satisfy the courts in a fashion our Founding Fathers envisioned.”
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