Yvette Clarke
WASHINGTON, Apr 9, CMC – Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke has joined 180 colleagues in the US House of Representatives in filing an amicus brief urging a US appeals court to end the delay in implementing critical programs for Caribbean and other immigrants.
The programmes – Deferred Action for Parental Accountability and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, will allow millions of immigrants to avoid deportation and become authorized to work.
Late Tuesday Judge Andrew S. Hanen of Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in Brownsville, refused to lift the injunction he had placed in February on President Barack Obama’s programmes, saying that to do so would cause irreparable harm.
Hanen’s decision came about even as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals signals that it might disagree with Hanen when it adopts the issue next week. President Obama and the US Department of Homeland Security are appealing that decision.
“I am proud to join my colleagues in supporting President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson in their effort to allow millions of American families to remain in the United States and participate in our economy,” said Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, before boarding a flight with Obama as the US president visits Jamaica for a summit with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders on Thursday.
“The decision by the District Court was completely unprecedented. Presidents of the United States – from President Ronald Reagan to President George W. Bush – have acted under the same authority as our chief executive as defer action in immigration cases,” added the representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn.
Hanen said he “remained convinced” that Obama had exceeded his authority by seeking to permit millions of undocumented immigrants to stay in the US legally and obtain work permits.
“Whether by ignorance, omission, purposeful misdirection, or because they were misled by their clients, the attorneys for the government misrepresented the facts,” he wrote.
But Emily Pierce, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Justice Department, dismissed the judge’s remarks.
“We emphatically disagree with the district court’s order regarding the government’s statements.”
The appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on April 17 about whether to rescind Hanen’s injunction.
The ruling could determine if the president’s programs move forward or the battles continue.
