Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement on Federal Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision to deny the Obama Administration’s request to withdraw the stay he granted in February. The judge also denied the Administration’s request to immediately implement executive amnesty and granted limited discovery in the case.
“The Obama Administration’s blatant misrepresentations to the court about its implementation of expanded work permits for illegal immigrants under the President’s lawless amnesty plan reflects a pattern of disrespect for the rule of law in America,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement obtained late Tuesday night by Breitbart Texas. “As the judge has affirmed, once put into effect, President Obama’s executive amnesty program will be virtually impossible to reverse. Any premature implementation could have serious consequences, inflicting irreparable harm on our state, and this ruling is key in determining the extent to which the federal government did not present the full truth in this case.”
Breitbart Texas reported on February 16th, that Judge Hanen issued an injunction to stop President Obama’s executive action in granting amnesty to nearly 5 million people. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed on December 3rd, 2014, by then Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (now Governor Abbott) on behalf of the State of Texas. At the time of the filing, Texas was joined by sixteen other states. That number has increased to twenty-six states, more than half of the country.
The Judge ruled that “at least one plaintiff has satisfied all the necessary elements to maintain a lawsuit and to obtain a temporary injunction.” This means that, not only can the lawsuit continue, but the judge has ordered that the President or the Secretary of Homeland Security cannot take action on the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program.
Judge Hanen later learned the attorneys for the Obama Administration had misled him as to the government’s actions. On March 19th, Breitbart Texas reported the Judge’s admonishment of the Department of Justice. “When I asked you what would happen and you said nothing I took it to heart,” Hanen said at the time. “I was made to look like an idiot. I believed your word that nothing would happen.”
During the hearings leading to an injunction handed down by Judge Hanen, attorney’s with the DOJ claimed that if an injunction was filed nothing would be done. That wasn’t the case, Texas’ attorney Angela Colmonero said.
“The defendant did the exact opposite and gave 100,000 renewals for a term of three years under the expanded DACA,” she said. “The defendant didn’t inform the court until March 3—15 days after the injunction was filed.”
Texas leads a 26-state bipartisan coalition fighting the President’s attempt to unilaterally grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. Joining Texas in the lawsuit are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and on Facebook.
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