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Texas judge, Andrew Hanen, the man responsible for placing an embargo on plans to protect some undocumented migrants from deportation, said on 9 March 2015 that the matter will not be looked at again until at least 19 March. The Obama administration had requested an emergency stay of the injunction on 23 February 2015.
Hanen will not lift a block on the White House's immigration plans, so delaying further plans to offer protection from deportation to more illegal immigrants. Hanen, a US District Judge in Brownsville, Texas, a city that's along the border with Mexico, originally issued a temporary injunction preventing immigration reform via executive action on 16 February 2015.
No ruling on any pending motions until 19 March
On March 9, Hanen issued a one-page order stating that the court would not rule on any pending motions until a court hearing on 19 March has taken place. This hearing will see government attorneys explain the circumstances under which 100,000 people had been granted three-year periods of deferred action before Hanen's injunction.
Judge Hanen critical of immigration enforcement
Historically, Hanen has been critical of US immigration enforcement, describing it as too lax. His original injunction, issued on February 16, was based on an administrative law issue, amongst other things, faulting Obama's administration for failing to provide public notice of his plans.
Hanen has always been adamant that Texas would be harmed by Obama's plans, but has not provided details of how other states may be affected.
Initial victory
The injunction put in place by Hanen represented an initial victory for the 26 states that filed a case against Obama's executive action. They claimed that he had exceeded his powers with executive orders that would permit close to 4.7 million illegal immigrants remain in the US without facing the threat of deportation. The President's orders bypassed Congress, which has been unable to reach an agreement on immigration reform.
Request for Emergency stay
The US justice department requested an emergency stay of Hanen's ruling on February 23, and further requested that he, at the very least, confines his decision to Texas only. This was denied on 9 March 2015.
Recently, the justice department applied to the 5th US circuit court of appeals for a fast ruling on the injunction. This was declined on Friday 13 March 2015.
