FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
November 10, 2015
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
ATTORNEY GENERAL STRANGE HAILS U.S. FEDERAL COURT OF
APPEALS DECISION BLOCKING OBAMA EXECUTIVE AMNESTY PLAN
Alabama Among 26 States Winning Appeal to Halt Illegal Amnesty Order
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange hailed the U.S. Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals decision Monday to uphold a district court order blocking President
Barak Obama’s executive amnesty program. The federal appeals court ruled that the 26
states, including Alabama, were justified in seeking an injunction of the president’s
unlawful executive amnesty order.
“The ruling is a resounding victory for the rule of law in America,” said Attorney
General Strange. “The federal appeals court upheld the argument advanced by Texas,
Alabama and 24 other states that President Obama has no legal authority to unilaterally
grant amnesty to nearly five million undocumented aliens without the consent of Congress
or the review of the states. This is precisely what the president has done in this case and his
actions have been halted by the courts.”
The federal appeals court held that the Obama administration’s executive amnesty
program, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, or DAPA, is illegal.
The court said, “At its core, this case is about the Secretary’s decision to change the
immigration classification of millions of illegal aliens on a class-wide basis. The states
properly maintain that DAPA’s grant of lawful presence and accompanying eligibility for
benefits is a substantive rule that must go through notice and comment, before it imposes
substantial costs on them, and that DAPA is substantively contrary to law.”
“Alabama and the 25 other states took president Obama at his word when he
challenged Congress to sue him if it did not like his attempts to circumvent the limits on his
executive authority,” said Attorney General Strange. “The states took the president to court
and have succeeded in stopping his usurpation of the law. No one, not even the president,
is above the law.”
The 26 states suing the Obama administration over its executive amnesty program
include Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas,
Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West
Virginia and Wisconsin.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
