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Payne, Colleagues File Amicus Brief in Support of President’s Immigration Plan

April 6, 2015

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) joined 180 of his colleagues in filing an amicus brief in support of President Obama’s executive actions that would make millions of undocumented immigrants eligible to live and work legally in the United States.

In the 49 page brief to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Congressman Payne, Jr. and his colleagues backed the Obama administration’s appeal of a preliminary injunction against its immigration plan by a federal district court in Texas.

“President Obama’s actions fall within the constitutional and legal authority of his office to set priorities for the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws,” said Congressman Payne, Jr. “They also reflect a need to keep families together and to ensure that limited government resources are used to deport serious criminals, not the mothers and fathers of U.S. citizen children. An immediate appeal of the Texas court ruling is absolutely necessary.”

“Our immigration system is broken, and we have a moral obligation to fix it,” added Congressman Payne, Jr. “While President Obama’s actions are an important first step, Republicans should work with Democrats to pass lasting, comprehensive immigration reform that reflects our values as a nation and meets our economic and security needs.”

On November 20, 2014, the Obama administration announced plans to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and to create a new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program to offer temporary protection from removal to the parents of American citizens and lawful permanent residents. In February, a federal district court in Texas temporarily blocked the implementation of those programs. The administration is appealing that decision and has requested expedited consideration of the appeal.

In their brief, Congressman Payne, Jr. and his colleagues explained that the Texas district court’s decision undermines Congress’s power to authorize the Executive Branch to establish national immigration enforcement policies and priorities.

Full text of the amicus brief can be found here.