Causa Responds to Lawsuit Against President Obama's Administrative Action Providing Relief to Immigrant Families

January 15, 2015

Causa Responds to Lawsuit Against President Obama's Administrative Action Providing Relief to Immigrant Families

States Challenging Obama’s Immigration Initiative Are On the Wrong Side of the Law—AND History

Salem, Ore. – Today, Judge Andrew Hanen, a G.W. Bush-appointed judge from the Federal District Court in Brownsville, Texas held the first hearing of Texas, et. al v. United States of America. The lawsuit was filed by Gov-Elect Greg Abbott, and it aims to stop the President’s recent executive action on immigration, halting the implementation of initiatives that could allow up to 5 million people to apply for work permits. Twenty-four other states signed on to the lawsuit, not including Oregon.

“This lawsuit is just a political PR stunt by anti-immigrant politicians,” said Andrea Miller, Executive Director of Causa Oregon. “We are confident that our families will win in the end. This lawsuit has no legal merit and only wastes taxpayer dollars, disenfranchises immigrant families, and robs states of much-needed revenue in our local economies.”

There are at least 124,000 undocumented immigrants living in Oregon, and approximately 64,000 immigrants would be eligible for one of the deferred action programs. Enabling these immigrants to register with the government, request a reprieve from removal, and apply for a temporary work permit would increase Oregon's tax revenues and lead to a cascade of economic benefits across the state.

“The outcome of this case affects thousands of real Oregon families, and we applaud Attorney General Ellen Rosemblum for signing on to the amicus brief filed in support of the deferred action programs. The brief recognized that, “the President’s action benefits Washington and other states by improving public safety, keeping families together, and aiding our economy….Hard working, tax paying immigrants can now emerge from the shadows.”

Eligible undocumented immigrants should have no fear of attending information meetings, registering, and getting ready to apply for deferred action status.

Causa will hold Immigrant Action Day on Saturday, February 21st at Chemeketa Community College in Salem starting at 10am. There will be a presentation and Q&A on what Administrative Relief means for families in Oregon and free consultations with a lawyer with limited capacity for participants. Due to limited space, those wanting consultation should come early to be added to the list.

The Supreme Court soundly rebuffed certain states’ misguided efforts in 2012, ruling that federal law preempts state action on immigration. States like Arizona and Alabama already tried to take immigration into their own hands by passing legislation and spending taxpayer money defending their anti-immigrant laws in court. States should take note of this recent history of losing expensive court battles and drop their merit-less lawsuit against relief for hardworking immigrant families.

More than a hundred constitutional law experts and legal scholars agree that the President used his legal authority to begin to address our country’s broken immigration system.

“Today’s hearing is just the first round in what will likely be a long, drawn out legal battle, but we know for certain that in the end, millions of immigrant workers will be able to come forward, register, and apply for work permits,” Miller added.

The Judge is expected to issue a ruling on anti-immigrant lawsuit after January 30th.

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Causa is Oregon's Statewide Immigrant Rights Organization. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information about Causa, please visit www.causaoregon.org