Having had enough of the Obama Administration’s changing explanations over its failure to obey his order to stop “Executive Amnesty” from going forward, Federal District Court Judge Andrew Hanen has ordered Department of Homeland (DHS) Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to personally appear in court and explain why he should not be held in contempt for violating a court ordered injunction.
Judge Andrew Hanen issued his latest order last week in a lawsuit filed by more than two dozen states led by Texas to halt President Obama’s executive amnesty order from being implemented.
President Obama announced his “Executive Amnesty” order last November that then Texas Attorney General and now Governor Greg Abbott filed a lawsuit to stop on December 3 – a lawsuit that led Judge Hanen to issue his injunction against implementation of “Executive Amnesty” in the first place.
Hanen later called the Obama administration’s response to his February injunction as “unacceptable” and “unprofessional” and that he was “shocked and surprised at the cavalier attitude the Government has taken” towards it.
Judge Hanen was particularly concerned by the federal government’s failure to explain why DHS issued 2,000 work permits to illegal aliens even after his injunction was in place. The Justice Department made that announcement in May, but DHS and its sub-agencies have not yet explained why applications for the permits were approved.
Hanen says that the government must answer that question to his satisfaction by the end of the month or else appear in his court on Aug. 19.
“Each individual Defendant must attend and be prepared to show why he or she should not be held in contempt of Court,” Hanen ordered. “In addition to the individual Defendants, the Government shall bring all relevant witnesses on this topic as the Court will not continue this matter to a later date.”
In addition to DHS Secretary Johnson, the list of defendants ordered to appear includes the heads of Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Issuing 2,000 work permits to illegal aliens after the injunction is not the first time the Obama administration has toyed with Judge Hanen over compliance with his immigration orders.
Last March, Justice Department attorneys said in a midnight court filing that DHS had actually granted three-year deferrals to more than 100,000 illegal aliens between the president’s amnesty announcement and the court’s February 16 injunction.
This happened despite the fact that DHS told Judge Hanen that no illegal aliens would receive relief until late February at the latest. The government said that the benefits were granted by accident.
Obama’s original November amnesty order was meant to extend amnesty to up to five million illegal aliens that aren’t already covered by his 2012 policy, Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). His most recent move expands on DACA and shields some parents of legal permanent residents from deportation.
If Judge Hanen finds DHS Secretary Johnson and other high administration officials involved in violating the court order in contempt, the individuals could face administrative sanctions and/or the loss of their law licenses.
