Federal Judge Andrew Hanen refused to lift the temporary stay on President Barack Obama's immigration executive orders.
Judge Hanen on Tuesday, April 7, denied the U.S. Department of Justice's emergency motion asking him to allow the implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans or Permanent Residents of Americans (DAPA) program and the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
"After considering the emergency motion and the arguments presented by both parties, this court denies the Government's motion to stay the February 16, 2015 Temporary Injunction Order," Hanen concluded in his ruling.
On February 16, Judge Hanen temporarily blocked the implementation of DAPA and the expansion of DACA - which would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to live and work legally in the United States - after 26 states filed a lawsuit alleging that the measures are unconstitutional.
Judge Hanen also ordered yesterday that the federal government provide him with information on how the decision was made to extend approximately 100,000 three-year work permits to individuals who re-enrolled in the DACA program.
According to Judge Hanen, the federal government may have lied to him by making him believe that the expansion of DACA, which includes the issuance of three-year work permits, had not yet been implemented.
The federal government has already appealed Judge Hanen's temporary restraining order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, which has jurisdiction over the case.
The appellate court will hear arguments from both sides on April 17. The ruling could take months.
