Andrew Hanen, district court judge for the Southern District of Texas’ Brownsville Division, decided not to rule further from his February injunction blocking President Obama’s deferred action programs, affecting an estimated 4.9 million undocumented immigrants. The ruling comes after the Obama administration gave Judge Hanen a deadline to lift the temporary injunction and, as the deadline passed, Hanen announced an additional court hearing for March 19 for U.S. attorneys to explain why 100,000 people were given three-year deferred action before the judge’s injunction was implemented.
“Due to the seriousness of the matters discussed therein, the Court will not rule on any other pending motions until it is clear that these matters, if true, do not impact the pending matters or any rulings previously made by this Court,” Hanen wrote in a statement.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs remain temporarily suspended, leaving the future of the 4.9 million undocumented immigrants poised to benefit from the programs in limbo. Still, President Obama is confident in his actions and the legal system prevailing.
“The law is on our side, and history is on our side,” Obama said in reaction to Judge Hanen’s initial issuance of the injunction in February.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) had intended to appeal the judge’s decision, but has yet to make a statement to those ends. As of now, the 25 states that had signed on to a lawsuit against the president for his alleged extra-constitutional oversteps may resume their legal battle.
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