Is the government violating a court order to
stop working on Obama’s immigration plans? Ted Cruz demands answers.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is demanding to know if the
Department of Homeland Security is following a court injunction
by delaying the implementation of President Barack Obama’s
executive action on immigration, after DHS and President Barack
Obama hinted that officials might still be working on the
program behind the scenes.
“Your comments and the president’s comments raise serious
questions about the administration’s intent to comply with the
law and abide by the most basic rules of our American system of
government,” Cruz wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh
Johnson.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wants to
know if DHS is violating a court order that stopped it from
implementing President Barack Obama’s immigration plan.
Image: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Last week, a federal court in
Texas ordered an injunction on two key parts of Obama’s plan
that could allow millions of illegal immigrants to win new legal
protection and work in the United States. DHS said in response
that it would put a hold on the program.
But Cruz pointed out that Johnson said DHS “will be prepared
to implement” the program once the court fight is over. Cruz
said Obama made a similar comment that DHS “will continue in the
planning” of the program so DHS is “ready to go” once the court
case ends.
Cruz said this ongoing work is “entirely unacceptable” and
amounts to a violation of a court order.
“Violating an unambiguous federal court order by defying its
instructions to cease and desist a particular activity would
represent a significant breach of your authority, and would be
an escalation in abuse of our separation of powers,” he wrote.
“For a president and his cabinet to telegraph intent to violate
a federal court order requires additional scrutiny from
Congress.”
Cruz asked Johnson to explain exactly what procedures DHS
will continue to implement, what sources of funding it will use,
and how this ongoing work doesn’t violate the court’s order to
stop implementing “any and all aspects or phases” of the
immigration program.