The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an emergency appeal Monday of the injunction by a Texas federal judge that halted President Barack Obama’s deferred action programs for illegal immigrants.
The judge had ordered all federal agencies to suspend their implementation of the president’s Nov. 20 memorandum, which would shield up to 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation and grant them work permits, arguing that the policy would cause irreparable harm if found illegal.
The DOJ argued likewise in its appeal that the injunction would cause irreparable harm, this time in the area of national security.
It argued the deferred action programs discourage immigration officers from detaining illegal immigrants who aren’t high priority, such as felons or terrorists.
This puts more resources toward national security, the White House argues, an effort stymied by the injunction.
The deferred action programs are “an integral part of the Department [of Homeland Security’s] comprehensive effort to set and effectuate immigration enforcement priorities that focus on the removal of threats to public safety, national security risks, and recent border crossers, thereby best securing the homeland in the face of limited resources,” the appeal states.
