Skip to main content

Immigration

Texas AG’s Office Con­tin­ues Fight Against Pres­i­dent Oba­ma’s Unlaw­ful Immi­gra­tion Plan

“President Obama’s executive action on immigration represents an unprecedented attempt to expand the power of the executive branch,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “The president alone does not have the authority to grant millions of illegal immigrants a host of benefits ”“ like Social Security and Medicare ”“ which should be reserved for lawful citizens. Rewriting national immigration law requires the full and careful consideration of Congress, and Texas will continue to fight this affront to the rule of law.”

December 29, 2015

Texas Files Suit Against Fed­er­al Gov­ern­ment over Syr­i­an Refugee Placement

“While Texans are compassionate to our core, and take in more refugees than any other state, significant security concerns have been raised about President Obama’s plans to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, nationwide,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton. “The federal government’s stated inability to run effective background checks on these refugees, entering the United States from one of the world’s most potent hotbeds of terrorism, puts all Texans at risk. Under the law, the federal government has a responsibility to consult with states in advance when relocating refugees, and has not fulfilled that burden here.

December 02, 2015

ICY­MI: Report Reveals Oba­ma Admin­is­tra­tion Data Unre­li­able”

A report published this week by the federal Office of the Inspector General (OIG) revealed that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data regarding the premature issuance of expanded work permits is “unreliable.” The report follows an admission in May by the Obama Administration that expanded work permits were granted to more than 2,000 illegal immigrants under the president’s executive amnesty program in violation of a court order. The OIG concluded that, due to the condition of the administration’s data, they couldn’t determine how many such permits were issued.

August 14, 2015 | Press Release

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Cir­cuit Denies Oba­ma Admin­is­tra­tion’s Request to Imple­ment Ille­gal Amnesty

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today denied the Obama Administration’s request to begin implementing the president’s illegal amnesty plan after a federal judge halted the program in a Feb. 16 ruling.

May 26, 2015

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton Calls for Increased Over­sight of Oba­ma Admin­is­tra­tion in Exec­u­tive Amnesty Case

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a response to the Obama Administration’s April 30 and May 7 advisories, which confirm the unwieldiness of the President’s illegal amnesty plan. The Texas-led, bipartisan coalition of 26 states continues to hold the Obama Administration accountable for its misrepresentations to a federal district court and its admitted violation of a court order in prematurely implementing executive amnesty. In today’s filing with the federal district court, the states argued for increased oversight of the administration's compliance with the court's injunction, and for the opportunity to look into whether the defendants should be sanctioned for their misrepresentations to the court.

May 20, 2015

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton State­ment on DOJ Admit­ting Thou­sands More Grant­ed Expand­ed Work Permits

“Ignoring Congress in rewriting immigration law, contradicting the President’s own statements that the Executive lacked the power to do so, and misleading a federal court ”“ not once, but multiple times ”“ the Obama Administration has established a pattern of renegade behavior making it clear it sees itself entirely above the rule of law. We will continue to fight back against this lawless behavior to prevent the implementation of this amnesty plan, which sets a dangerous precedent and would have disastrous consequences for Texas and every other state in America.”

May 08, 2015

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton Files Brief Defend­ing Court Order Halt­ing Pres­i­dent Oba­ma’s Ille­gal Amnesty

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a brief defending the preliminary injunction issued by a federal district court, which stopped the Obama Administration’s lawless executive amnesty. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

May 05, 2015

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton: DOJ With­holds Doc­u­ments about Scope of its Mis­lead­ing Statements

After being ordered by a federal district court to produce documents related to misleading statements made during a hearing earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) responded by providing no substantive documents for review, instead producing a heavily-redacted, 200-page privilege log in which almost every responsive document was withheld from suing states, along with material that had already been made public. In response to this brazen disregard for a legal order, General Paxton released the following statement.

May 01, 2015

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton: The Pres­i­dent Must Fol­low the Rule of Law

The Texas Attorney General’s Office today defended an injunction stopping the Obama Administration’s unconstitutional executive amnesty program from taking effect. The Texas-led coalition of 26 states made its case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

April 17, 2015

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton Files Brief Defend­ing Injunc­tion Stop­ping Pres­i­den­t’s Ille­gal Amnesty

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a supplemental brief defending an injunction secured by a Texas-led 26-state coalition halting the Obama Administration’s attempt to grant executive amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. Oral arguments in the case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will be held Friday in New Orleans.

April 14, 2015