Proving once again the political nature of the lawsuit brought by 26 GOP Governors and Attorneys General against President Obama’s immigration executive action, the presiding Judge, Andrew Hanen, issued an outrageous and highly unusual order alleging misconduct on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. At issue are three-year work permits issued to recipients of DACA 2012 in the period between the President’s 2014 announcement and the issuance of Judge Hanen’s injunction in February 2015.
In a truly bizarre opinion, which quotes heavily from Hollywood movies, Hanen ordered the government to file a list of each of the immigrants – mostly young DREAMERs – given three-year employment authorizations before his injunction issued, including all personal identifiers and locators such as names, addresses, “A” file numbers and contact information, together with the date the three-year renewal or approval was granted.
Hanen’s order further provides that Texas and the 25 states who sued to block the executive actions can receive this list upon “showing of good cause.”
“Judge Hanen is demanding names and addresses of immigrant youth, and for what purpose? To set the stage for Donald Trump’s deportation force? This is a disgusting, outrageous, and gross abuse of judicial power,” said Lynn Tramonte Deputy Director of America’s Voice. “We always knew Judge Hanen was the favored judge of the anti-immigrant movement, and his rulings on the case were based on ideology, not the law. Today’s antics are all the more reason that the Supreme Court needs to stand up against his thinly-veiled, ideological agenda and apply the actual law.”
There is no basis for Hanen to demand this treasure trove of personal information about DREAMers. The employment authorization permits in question were issued before Hanen issued his injunction and do not fall within his order blocking the executive actions.
Hanen also inexplicably ordered any Department of Justice attorney employed at the Department Headquarters in Washington, DC who appears or seeks to appear in federal or state court in any of the 26 Plaintiff states to attend a legal ethics course every year.
Said attorney David Leopold: “This is an audacious opinion from a Judge who has repeatedly made his animus towards the Obama administration quite clear. His vindictiveness towards immigrants is once again on full display with his fearmongering ploy.
“One thing is for sure, today Judge Hanen reminded the entire country – and Chief Justice Roberts and his colleagues – exactly why the GOP governors and attorneys general sought him out to hear their attack on DAPA and DACA+. This latest move by Hanen calls into question all the other decisions he has made to date, yet another reason why the Supreme Court needs to step in and resolve this case.”
For more on Judge Hanen’s problems with the law, see:
- “Ending Judicial Truthiness on Immigration” (Anil Kalhan, Washington Monthly)
- “Who Said It: Donald Trump or Judge Hanen?” (America’s Voice)
- “Finding Judge Hanen: How US v. Texas Began” (America’s Voice)
- “When birther queen Orly Taitz needed an anti-immigrant judge, she chose Andrew Hanen” (Kerry Eleveld, Daily Kos)
