Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen to block implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Last August, Judge Hanen ruled the Obama administration did not have the authority to implement DACA but did not issue an injunction at the time.
The motion for summary judgment on behalf of Texas and seven other states asks Hanen to terminate DACA and stop DHS from issuing or renewing DACA status for certain illegal aliens.
“Our lawsuit is about the rule of law, not about the wisdom of any particular immigration policy,” Attorney General Paxton said. “DACA is just as illegal as the Obama-era Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program, which a Texas led multi-state coalition blocked by challenging it in a court case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Last August, the district court acknowledged that Congress has the sole authority to write immigration laws, and the president is not free to disregard those duly-enacted laws. We’re asking the court to grant summary judgment declaring DACA unlawful.”
The Supreme Court in January declined the Trump Administration’s request for emergency consideration of the DACA matter. That left in place the rulings of federal judges in California and New York who prevented the Administration from ending DACA. If Hanen strikes it down, his ruling will conflict with the other rulings. This may not prompt the Supreme Court to weigh in this term but the justices are likely to take up the matter in the fall.
Read more in the Austin American-Statesman.
