Texas-led collation gains amnesty win; Obama’s motion to stay denied

NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday denied the Obama Administration’s motion for an emergency stay on an injunction halting the president’s executive amnesty order.

Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that the “constitution wins” while Attorney General Ken Paxton called the Fifth Circuit’s decision a “victory for the rule of law.”

“President Obama abdicated his responsibility to preserve and protect the United States Constitution when he issued this executive action, and after months of obfuscation and stall tactics by his Administration, victory for the Constitution has been awarded and the Rule of Law restored,” said Abbott in a written statement.

“We live in a nation governed by a system of checks and balances, and the president’s attempt to bypass the will of the American people was successfully checked again today. I am pleased the Court of Appeals preserved the injunction against President Obama’s unlawful action and recognized the fundamental principles upon which our nation was founded.”

On Feb. 16, a federal judge in Brownsville halted President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration, provoking the administration to call upon the Fifth Circuit in hopes of staying the order.

Abbott, while he was still attorney general, filed the original proceedings Dec. 3 in the U.S. Court for the Southern District, Texas-Brownsville Division. Since then, more than half the states in the union joined the Texas-led lawsuit challenging Obama’s Nov. 20 amnesty order.

The states sought to enjoin the U.S. and Department of Homeland Security to prevent the implementation of “Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents” – a program designed to enable millions of illegal immigrants to obtain a variety of both state and federal benefits.

Texas and its allies had argued the expense of granting legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants would place an undue financial burden on states.

“Telling illegal aliens that they are now lawfully present in this country, and awarding them valuable government benefits, is a drastic change in immigration policy,” said Paxton in a written statement.

“The president’s attempt to do this by himself, without a law passed by Congress and without any input from the states, is a remarkable violation of the U.S Constitution and laws. We will continue to fight the brazen lawlessness that has become a trademark of the Obama Administration.”

In a 2-1 decision, the Fifth Court found: “The public interest favors maintenance of the injunction.”

In response to the court’s ruling, Melissa Crow, legal director for the American Immigration Council, said her organization was “very disappointed,” calling the decision “fundamentally flawed.”