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White House Violates Court Order on Work Permits

For Immediate Release 
May 11, 2015

Media Contact:  Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581 or Josh Rivera, 202-763-4428

White House Violates Court Order on Work Permits

(Washington D.C.) – Last week, the Obama administration admitted that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office granted expansion to an estimated 2,000 additional immigrant workers permits, even after the president’s executive action was halted by a court order. The Department of Justice issued an apology and promised to fix this error and would effectively limit the extension to two years – according to the previous policy — instead of three. This is not the first time the Justice Department issued a clarification to the court which impacted thousands of immigrants. In March, it admitted that the USCIS granted more than 100,000 of these expanded work permit renewals to undocumented immigrants under the president’s new program before the court decision.

 

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:


“America’s immigration policy impacts our budget, our economic growth, our security, and a whole range of other issues. It is too important to be tackled by the White House alone, addressing only limited parts of the problem through executive orders. It requires broadly-supported solutions enacted with Congress through legislation. And it becomes harder to achieve that reform when the president defies the courts or exceeds his constitutional authority – as he has done too often.

Immigration is an issue that cuts across party lines; which is why Americans are exasperated with the ambitious unilateral actions that the courts have been predisposed to reject. They are growing tired of politically motivated positions that go far beyond the national consensus and Constitutional limits. It is time for the Obama administration to put an end to its go-it-alone approach and join leadership on the Hill to usher in a bipartisan effort Congress requires to achieve permanent, sensible reform. Americans are desperately needing leadership, voices who offer a sensible approach to tackling the real costs of a broken system. They’re calling for clear solutions that address the 11 million undocumented immigrants who reside in America with no path forward.”

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Brian Faughnan,703-678-4581 or  Josh Rivera, 202-763-4428.

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