Texas Federal Judge Andrew Hanen issued a temporary injunction halting the Executive Amnesty program announced last year by President Barack Obama. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton responded to the late night decision by the judge.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed on December 3rd, 2014, by then Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (now Governor Abbott) on behalf of the State of Texas. At the time of the filing, Texas was joined by sixteen other states. That number has increased to twenty-six states, more than half of the country.

In the ruling (attached below), Judge Hanen wrote, “The ultimate question before the Court is: Do the laws of the United States, including the Constitution, give the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) the power to take the action at issue in this case?” The judge laid out three issues to answer in this ruling: “(1) whether the States have standing to bring this case; (2) whether the DHS has the necessary discretion to institute the DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents) program; and (3) whether the DAPA program is constitutional, comports with existing laws, and was legally adopted.”

The Judge ruled that “at least one plaintiff has satisfied all the necessary elements to maintain a lawsuit and to obtain a temporary injunction.” This means that, not only can the lawsuit continue, but the judge has ordered that the President or the Secretary of Homeland Security cannot take action on the DAPA program. . .

Governor Abbott responded to the ruling handed down late Monday night. “President Obama abdicated his responsibility to uphold the United States Constitution when he attempted to circumvent the laws passed by Congress via executive fiat, and Judge Hanen’s decision rightly stops the President’s overreach in its tracks . . .” (Read more from “Federal Judge Orders Obama to Immediately Stop His Executive Amnesty” HERE)