A group of nine Republican states, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, asked a federal judge on Tuesday to overrule President Joe Biden’s updated Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“This lawsuit is about the scope of executive power, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy,” the states argued in their motion for summary judgment. “No President can unilaterally override Congress’s duly enacted laws simply because he prefers different policy choices.”
The lawsuit will be heard before U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who held that the 2012 Obama-era DACA memo was unlawful in the Summer of 2021. Hanen’s ruling was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. However, the Fifth Circuit remanded the case to the district court in light of an updated DACA rule Biden issued that went into effect on October 31.
Immigration advocates rally to urge to urge Congress to pass permanent protections for DACA recipients and create a pathway to citizenship, near the U.S. Capitol June 15, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Biden’s DACA regulation is largely similar to former President Barack Obama’s 2012 memo that created DACA, except Biden’s regulation was subject to public comments as part of the rulemaking process.
President Barack Obama, left, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, right, listen as Diana Calderon, a student who has benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, speaks at a reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, October 15, 2015, for Hispanic Heritage Month and the 25th anniversary of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
As Breitbart News previously reported:
The three-judge panel – which includes Judge James Ho, who as an outspoken textualist and originalist is a favorite among constitutional conservatives — explained that they were not able to render a final definitive judgment because DHS’s administrative record was not included in the package sent up to the appeals court for review, and instructed Hanen to examine that administrative record so that he could render such a final opinion as soon as possible. Noting that the new Biden regulations are scheduled to take effect October 31, the court instructed that “those issues of law should be resolved sooner rather than later to move this case forward as expeditiously as possible,” giving Hanen enough time to block the new program with an injunction, and then for the Fifth Circuit to take up a comprehensive review for a final disposition.
However, the Republican states argued Biden’s latest DACA rule should be blocked due to the similarities between his and Obama’s rules.
“The Final Rule — as the latest manifestation of the DACA program — is substantively unlawful for the same reasons as the DACA Memorandum. The Court should declare it unlawful and unconstitutional, vacate it in its entirety, and permanently enjoin its implementation (with a prudent transition for existing DACA recipients),” the states argued.
Along with Texas, the coalition of states includes Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, and Mississippi.
If Hanen rules in favor of the GOP states, the decision is expected to be appealed to the Fifth Circuit before ultimately reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case is Texas v. United States, No. 1:18-cv-00068 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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