Saturday, December 6, 2014

17 States Sue Over Obama Immigration Plan

Top leaders in 17 states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging President Barack Obama ’s executive action on immigration, broadening a GOP fight against policy changes that Republicans see as overstepping White House authority.
The suit, filed in a federal court in Brownsville, Texas, and announced by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the state’s governor-elect, asks that the president’s changes to immigration policy be declared illegal and blocked. The suit echoes complaints by congressional Republicans: that the president’s move to change immigration policy without approval from Congress violates the Constitution.
“Our immigration system is broken and it must be fixed,” Mr. Abbott said. But it must be fixed, he added, “by Congress, not presidential fiat.”
Courts have repeatedly ruled that immigration is a federal, not a state, concern, and Mr. Obama has said his move is legal and has precedent. “The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that federal officials can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws, and we are confident that the president’s executive actions are well within his legal authorities,” White House spokesman Shawn Turner said Wednesday.
A Texas National Guard soldier monitors the U.S.-Mexico 
border in Havana, Texas, in September. The state is 
leading a lawsuit on immigration. Getty Images
Mr. Obama added on Wednesday, before the suit was announced, that he hoped the two parties could work together to pass comprehensive immigration legislation.
But the fact that officials from one-third of all states signed on to the suit highlights the increasingly contentious relationship between the White House and the Republicans since GOP gains in last month’s midterm elections. Two weeks ago, House Republicans filed a long-threatened lawsuit claiming the administration had overstepped its bounds in how it is paying for or enforcing certain aspects of the health-care law.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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