Robert Bentley signs on to Texas immigration lawsuit
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced Monday that he has signed an Amicus Curiae, along with six other states, to the United States Supreme Court to support a Texas lawsuit against executive actions on immigration by President Barack Obama. “The President’s executive amnesty order severely impacts states, and governors are on the front lines in protecting states’ rights from federal encroachment,” Bentley said in a statement. “Immigration is an important issue that our country must address, and Congress is the proper place for the debate. The President’s executive amnesty order disregards the role Congress plays in policy decisions.” The lawsuit contends that the president’s executive actions are an “overreach” of authority under the Take Care Clause of the United States Constitution. The clause essentially requires that the president “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” “The President cannot do by executive action what the Congress has not authorized by legislation,” the statement from Bentley’s office said. “The amicus brief explores two important factors, including protecting the executive branch in states from irreparable injuries in implementing illegal processes and policies, and protects states from executive encroachments on state sovereignty when the President makes law unilaterally, without congressional action.” Bentley’s statement continues by saying that the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents Act (DAPA), which would allow illegal immigrants with children in the U.S. to attain work permits and not be separated from their children, is outside of the president’s “statutory and constitutional authority.” The lawsuit contends that Obama’s actions are “making lawful what Congress has declared unlawful” and the executive actions are therefore in violation of the aforementioned clause.
Barack Obama’s executive actions challenged by multi-state coalition
On Monday, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced that the state has joined 26 others in filing a merits brief with the U.S. Supreme Court opposing executive actions by President Barack Obama. The statement claims Obama’s actions will grant amnesty to four million illegal immigrants. The other states involved in the lawsuit include Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The brief contends that the administration’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) is “unconstitutional and defies states’ rights.” The law allows illegal immigrants, who have lived in the country since 2010 and have children who are American citizens or lawful permanent residents, to apply for a renewable, three year work permit and avoid deportation. Texas has not only noted the unconstitutionality of the law, but has added that the added burden and expense of issuing driver’s license to undocumented immigrants. Further, a Texas court ruled that the new law violates the tenets of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. According to a 2015 study by the Migration Policy Institute, about 3.6 million undocumented immigrants would be eligible for DAPA. The report further notes that “more than 10 million people live in households with at least one potentially DAPA-eligible adult, including some 4.3 million children under age 18 – an estimated 85 percent of whom are U.S. citizens.” “The president’s immigration order is an outright attempt to sidestep the power of Congress which had earlier refused to pass blanket amnesty for millions of illegal aliens,” Strange said in the statement. “This president has demonstrated over and over the will to circumvent Congress and the limits on his own constitutional authority in order to achieve a political goal.” The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments over the law, which has been delayed until all legal proceedings are completed, on April 18.
Immigrants launch Twitter campaign to stir Gov. Robert Bentley on deportation relief program
Pro-immigrant activists are still taking to Twitter on Thursday amid a federal court case enjoined by Attorney General Luther Strange seeking to prevent the administration of President Barack Obama from reforming U.S. immigration rules by executive order. Supporters are using the hashtag #Bama4DAPA to converse with one another and promote their message in favor of relaxing immigration rules to stop the deportation of many categories of undocumented immigrants. “Tell @GovernorBentley to drop Alabama off the lawsuit vs #DAPA Sign the petition […] #Bama4DAPA,” reads one representative example. “Fight for keeping families united #BAMA4DAPA,” reads another. See the entire stream of related Tweets here. The campaign was organized by the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, which made it a major priority Wednesday with the conversation continuing Thursday. Birmingham Mayor William Bell addressed the group in April. He expressed his solidarity with their cause and said that the lawsuit is an impediment to progress. “This injunction is only hurting immigrant families,” Bell said. “We need to lift the ban to allow families to remain united in these United States. It is imperative to find pathways to allow these people to continue to be vital contributors to our communities and to be treated with dignity. Our voices need to be heard in order to remove the injustice that is being put upon these families.”
