Politico
By Josh Gerstein
July 7, 2015
A
federal judge up in arms about non-compliance with a court order
blocking President Barack Obama's recent executive actions on
immigration is demanding that Homeland
Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and four other top immigration
enforcement officials appear in a Brownsville, Texas, courtroom next
month to explain why they should not be held in contempt of court.
U.S.
District Court Judge Andrew Hanen issued an order Tuesday afternoon
requring the five officials to show up for a hearing Aug. 19. However,
the judge also said he
would cancel the session if he's "satisifed" with the government's
actions to limit or revoke 2,000 three-year work permits it issued to
illegal immigrants after Hanen issued an injunction that limited new
permits to a two-year duration.
"This
Court has expressed its willingness to believe that these actions were
accidental and not done purposefully to violate this Court’s order.
Nevertheless, it is shocked
and surprised at the cavalier attitude the Government has taken with
regard to its 'efforts' to rectify this situation," Hanen wrote.
"The
Government has conceded that it has directly violated this Court’s
Order in [the government's] May 7, 2015 advisory, yet, as of today, two
months have passed since
the Advisory and it has not remediated its own violative behavior. That
is unacceptable and, as far as the Government’s attorneys are
concerned, completely unprofessional," the judge added in his order
(posted here). "Neither side should interpret this Court’s
personal preference to not sanction lawyers or parties as an indication
that it will merely acquiesce to a party’s unlawful conduct."
Spokespeople
for the Homeland Security Department and the White House did not
immediately respond to requests for comment on the order, which applies
to Johnson as well
as Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez.,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana, Border
Patrol Deputy Chief Ronald Vitiello and Customs and Border Patrol
Director Gil Kerlikowske. A Justice Department spokesman
declined to comment.
The
Obama administration has run into a series of problems in the
immigration lawsuit beyond the policy and political headaches caused by
Hanen's February injunction.
Hanen's move halted Obama's moves to expand a program to grant
quasi-legal status and work permits to more illegal immigrants who
arrived in the U.S. as children and to create a similar new program for
illegal immigrants who are parents of U.S. citizens or
green card holders.
Hanen
and the 26 states suing to block Obama's actions have accused the
administration of misleading the court about the fact that about 100,000
immigrants were given
three-year work permits under the actions Obama announced in November.
The judge said he was under the impression none of Obama's changes to
the deferred action program had been implemented when legal arguments
played out on the issue earlier this year. Justice
Department lawyers have said there was no intent to mislead but that
they regret any confusion.
There
was some mention in court filings of the issuance of three-year permits
in court papers, but the judge said oral comments by the government's
lawyers led him to
believe the change to three-year permits had not taken place.
After
clarifying that point in March, the Justice Department came forward in
May to disclose the 2,000 issuances after Hanen's order. Government
lawyers said DHS's inspector
general is investigating why the three-year permits were issued despite
the court injunction.
A federal appeals court panel is scheduled to hear arguments Friday on whether Hanen's injunction should be overturned.
Hanen is an appointee of President George W. Bush.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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