The Mexican government criticized a Texas judge’s decision to halt President Obama’s deportation amnesty this week. The court ruling halted the program that allows Mexicans living in the United States without documents to avoid deportation.
The 50 Mexican consulates in the United States had been preparing to issue documentation for those eligible but the Obama administration has been forced to postpone the process.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that it “regrets” Judge Andrew S. Hanen’s injunction.
“These programs are a just remedy for millions of families and have the potential to strengthen the important contributions that Mexican immigrants make to the American economy and society,” the ministry said.
Obama announced that he was taking executive action to bypass Congress in November. The amnesty grants a three-year legal status and allows illegal immigrant parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to apply for work permits and social security numbers. Hanen’s legal challenge came at the urging of 26 states who accused Obama of “exceeding his powers.” It leaves roughly five million people eligible for the program in a legal limbo, as they wait for the injunction to be lifted so they can apply to stay in the country.
Obama has vowed to fight the legal challenge. “I think that the law is on our side and history is on our side, we are going to appeal it,” he said.
Republican representative Steve King caused outrage in Mexico by angrily defending the action. “I shouldn’t be surprised that the lawless land of Mexico doesn’t understand the Constitution or the rule of law in the United States,” King said in a telephone interview.