Florida Joins States Suing Barack Obama Over Immigration

Florida has become the 18th state to join a lawsuit against President Barack Obama’s executive action that could ultimately prevent the deportation of an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants.

The group of states suing in response to Obama’s executive order are all Republican-led.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi made the announcement of Florida’s decision to join the suit on Friday. Bondi insists the state’s action isn’t about immigration. Instead, it’s “about President Obama yet again overstepping the power granted to him by our United States Constitution,” Bondi said in a statement on the issue.

The lawsuit alleges that Obama’s action went against two federal laws: the Administrative Procedures Act and a Constitutional clause that requires presidents to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Obama’s order would allow undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for five years without committing serious crimes and who are the parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents to avoid deportation, the paper stated.

By taking the action without going through Congress, Obama overstepped, Bondi asserts.

“We need to fix our system of immigration, but willfully turning a blind eye to the inconvenience of law and rule is not the path to remedy, but a prescription for unwarranted presidential overreach,” she said.

Other states that have signed onto the lawsuit include Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Maine, Alabama and Indiana, among others. It is unclear how soon the suit, filed in a Texas federal court, will be heard.

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