IRLI Praises Federal Court Ruling Halting the Obama Administration’s Executive Actions Granting Amne

February 17, 2015

Texas Federal Court reinstates constitutional order and Congress’s authority over immigration

February 17, 2015

(Washington, D.C.) – The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) is very pleased with yesterday’s decision (attached here) from the Southern District Court of Texas to temporarily halt the Obama Administration’s unlawful amnesty agenda. IRLI filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Texas v. US (Civil Action No. 14-254) on behalf of the 26 Plaintiff States arguing that the President’s executive orders did not comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, strips Congress of its plenary authority over immigration, and dismantles the separation of power under our nation’s constitution. The Texas District Court agreed in part and has ordered the program stopped until a full hearing can take place.

Crucial for the Plaintiff States was the Court’s standing analysis which closely followed their arguments while noting the government’s arguments to the contrary were filled with “ironies” and “contradictions.” Further, the Court disagreed completely with the government’s assertion that Congress delegated absolute discretion over deportation matters to the Department of Homeland Security. IRLI’s brief clearly laid out Congress’s statutory framework for deportations under the INA making the case that whatever discretion DHS may claim had largely been eliminated by Congress.

Dale Wilcox, Executive Director of IRLI commented, “As the court noted yesterday, the logical end point of the Obama Administration’s argument was that DHS has the authority to apply amnesty to all 12 million illegal aliens in this country. We believe DHS will attempt to do this in future, however, today’s decision puts a major curb on those plans.” Wilcox continued, “We completely agree with the court that the president’s amnesty is a “complete abdication” of his responsibility to execute our immigration laws. This is a major victory for the American people, including the men and women of Homeland Security who’ve taken an oath to enforce our immigration laws.”