President Obama “crossed a serious legal line” with last week’s executive order on immigration, and Texas attorney general and governor-elect Greg Abbott is following up on his promise to take legal action, he said on Tuesday.
“The President’s action violates his constitutional duty to faithfully enforce immigration laws that were duly enacted by Congress, circumvents the will of the American people and is an affront to the families and individuals who follow our laws to legally immigrate to the United States,” he said in a statement, citing violations to the “Take Care Clause” of the Constitution as well as the Administrative Procedure Act. “The State of Texas will assert a legal action against President Obama’s unconstitutional abuse of power.”
At a press conference on Monday, Abbott said he expects to finalize his decision in the next two weeks, during which time he will speak to attorneys general and other state officials. Neighboring attorney general Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma has also vowed to take legal action against the Obama administration for last week’s order.