Judge halts Obama’s amnesty order

A federal judge stopped President Obama’s executive order that certain of the nation’s immigration laws not be enforced.  The ruling was in response to a lawsuit by 26 states.  The stay is temporary, pending the outcome of the case.  The White House said that it would appeal.

From Federal judge stalls Obama’s executive action on immigration – The Washington Post:

The White House promised an appeal Tuesday after a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration and gave a coalition of 26 states time to pursue a lawsuit aiming to permanently stop the orders.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision late Monday puts on hold Obama’s orders that could spare from deportation as many as 5 million people who are in the U.S. illegally. In response, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it would halt preparations for a program to protect parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents until further notice.

In a memorandum accompanying his order, Hanen said the lawsuit should go forward and that the states would “suffer irreparable harm in this case” without a preliminary injunction.

“The genie would be impossible to put back into the bottle,” he wrote, adding that he agreed that legalizing the presence of millions of people is a “virtually irreversible” action.