Obama Admin. Argues Computer Issues To Blame For Breaking Amnesty Injunction

The Obama administration says it violated a federal’s judge’s injunction blocking President Obama’s executive amnesty programs from taking effect due to computer problems, according to reports.

Earlier this month the Obama administration admitted it issued 2,000 three-year expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) work permits after U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen put the brakes on the executive amnesty programs — Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded DACA — in February.

Cox Radio’s Jamie Dupree reports that in court filings issued late Friday, administration lawyers argued that after the injunction United States Citizenship and Immigration Services moved to “ensure that the agency ceased its preparations to implement” executive amnesty.

Despite the steps to prevent the implementation of the new programs, Dupree reports the administration said, computer issues allowed for the 2,000 expanded applications to fall through the cracks.

“USCIS discovered that it had erroneously failed to remove these cases from the processing queue,” Donald Neufeld, USCIS’ the associate director for Service Center Operations, said according to Dupree.

“I accept full responsibility for the failure,” USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez added, according to Dupree. Rodriguez continued, “USCIS should have exercised greater management oversight.”

Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has requested the agency watchdog investigate the matter. According to Dupree that request was included in the administration’s filings with the court.

Twenty-six states are challenging the Obama administration over the executive amnesty programs the president announced in November. Hanen issued an injunction on the executive action programs before their implementation. The administration has appealed that order to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

This most recent filing comes following a series face-reddening blunders by the administration before Hanen’s court. Such missteps also include the admission that — despite earlier assurances to the contrary — the government issued more than 100,000 expanded DACA work permits prematurely.