Texas AG leads 17-state lawsuit against Obama administration over executive order on immigration
President Barack Obama. Mykhaylo Palinchak / Shutterstock.com
The attorney general of Texas has filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration on behalf of a 17-state coalition, challenging the president’s authority to issue a recent executive order easing immigration restrictions for millions of undocumented Americans.
“The president is abdicating his responsibility to faithfully enforce laws that were fully enacted by Congress,” said AG Greg Abbott, who is also the governor-elect of Texas, in a written statement about the lawsuit.
Filed Wednesday in federal court in the Houston-based Southern District of Texas, the suit (PDF) argues that Obama’s action contravenes the U.S. Constitution’s “Take Care Clause” and seeks a court ruling blocking the executive order, according to the Associated Press.
The Austin American-Statesman, the Houston Chronicle and Reuters also have stories.
Today’s lawsuit is the 31st time Abbott has sued the federal government since 2009, the articles note.
Related material:
Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy: “Take Care Now: Stare Decisis and the President’s Duty to Defend Acts of Congress”
Updated on Dec. 4 to add a link to the lawsuit.
