Texas Files Multi-State Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Defending Court’s Injunction Against Executive
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit defending the preliminary injunction against President Obama’s executive amnesty issued by the U.S. District Court in Brownsville, Texas. Also signing onto the brief are the Governors of Louisiana, New Jersey and South Dakota, who also joined Texas in a previously-filed amicus brief opposing the Obama Administration’s request for a stay of the district court’s injunction. Governor Abbott issue the following statement:
“Following last week’s revelation that the Obama Administration unlawfully issued thousands of extended work visas in direct violation of the District Court’s preliminary injunction, it is now more important than ever to ensure that the injunction is upheld to prevent the Defendants from taking any further unlawful action as this case works its way through the legal process, which I am confident will ultimately result in the President’s unconstitutional executive action being struck down.”
In the brief, the Governors emphasize two interests in defending the preliminary injunction entered by the district court: to protect the executive branches in the Governors’ states from “irreparable injuries,” and to rebut “the arguments offered by the State of Washington on behalf of 14 other states.”
The brief goes on to highlight that, while the State of Washington might prefer the immigration policy embodied in the President’s executive action, this case is not a debate about immigration policy; instead it is about the Constitution and the President’s most recent attempt to circumvent it.
The Governors’ brief emphasizes that Congress passed the federal immigration laws in 1952, and that those laws have been amended numerous times over the ensuing decades. Those efforts by previous Congresses and previous Presidents mean nothing if they allow the current President to unilaterally dispense with those statutes, unilaterally create a new immigration system, unilaterally create new employment and social welfare programs, and insulate the entire effort from judicial review.