A federal judge in Texas rebuffed a request from the Obama administration Monday night to rule quickly on an emergency motion to allow the President’s executive actions on immigration to go forward.
Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, said in the one-page order that he will not rule on “any pending motions” until at least March 19th.
The order signals that the judge could be frustrated with the government.
Texas and 25 other states who are challenging the President’s immigration actions expressed concerns last week that they may have been misled by the government concerning whether officials granted expanded work permits to those eligible for the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” when it was unauthorized to do so.
In his ruling Monday night, Hanen referenced the issue and said that due to the “seriousness” of the matter he wanted all parties to appear before him on March 19th.
It was unclear Monday night if the Justice Department would pursue a stay with the 5th Circuit Court of appeals.