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 U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, a city along the
border with Mexico, issued a temporary court order last month
halting President Barack Obama's orders that would have shielded
millions of illegal immigrants from deportation.
The administration asked Hanen for a stay on his order last month
and late on Wednesday requested a decision by Monday.
Hanen on Thursday declined to comment while the case is ongoing.
Hanen, who had previously criticized U.S. immigration enforcement as
too lax, based his ruling on an administrative law question,
faulting Obama for not giving public notice of his plans. He also
cited ways that Texas would be harmed by the action but used no
other states as examples.
Anne O'Connell, a professor at University of California Berkeley
School of Law, said it is doubtful that Hanen will grant even the
partial stay, but said the administration's move appears designed to
force Hanen to defend his argument.
"If all the harm is about Texas, it does seem like a bit of
overreaching by the judge to keep the preliminary injunction in
place everywhere," O'Connell said.
The case in Texas is the latest in a series of challenges to Obama's
immigration action.
Hanen's decision on Feb. 17 was an initial victory for 26 states
that brought the case alleging Obama had exceeded his powers with
executive orders that would let up to 4.7 million illegal immigrants
stay without threat of deportation.
Obama's orders bypassed Congress, which has not been able to agree
on immigration reform.
On Feb. 23, the U.S. Justice Department requested an emergency stay
of Hanen's decision.
It also directly appealed to Hanen, asking that he at the very least
limit his decision to Texas, because Hanen has not pointed to any
specific harm the president's immigration action would cause beyond
that state.
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If Hanen does not issue a full stay by Monday, the Justice
Department will take its request to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in New Orleans, according to the court filing released late
Wednesday. It was unclear whether they will do so if Hanen grants
the partial stay.
A stay would reverse, or partially reverse, the injunction and allow
eligible immigrants to apply for benefits, including work permits,
while the appeals process plays out in higher courts over the next
several months.
Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration
Law Center, an immigration advocacy organization based in Los
Angeles, said a stay that excludes Texas would be better than no
stay at all.
Obama and White House Counsel Neil Eggleston last week briefed
Hincapie and other immigration advocates on their legal strategy.
"We are definitely worried for immigrants in Texas," Hincapie said.
"We want everybody across the country to be able to benefit."
(Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Karey Van Hall and Kevin
Drawbaugh)
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