“…President’s Actions are Well Within his Legal Authority…” : Press Secretary
The White House will appeal the ruling by a federal judge in Texas which temporarily blocks President Barack Obama’s Executive Order on immigration. The U.S. Department of Justice will file an appeal to the judge’s ruling.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision would affect about 5 million people now in the U.S. illegally who would be spared from deportation under Obama’s Executive Order.
It would have been the first of Obama’s Executive Order, designed to protect young immigrants from deportation if brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Hanen, who was nominated to the federal court by President George W. Bush, has served on the federal court since 2002.
Statement by President Obama’s Press Secretary on State of Texas v. United States of America
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. Those policies are consistent with the laws passed by Congress and decisions of the Supreme Court, as well as five decades of precedent by presidents of both parties who have used their authority to set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws.
The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts, and the district court in Washington, D.C. have determined that the President’s actions are well within his legal authority. Top law enforcement officials, along with state and local leaders across the country, have emphasized that these policies will also benefit the economy and help keep communities safe. The district court’s decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect and the Department of Justice has indicated that it will appeal that decision.
