What is next?

		Newsletter	Week of Feb 20
	This Issue: Obama's executive amnesties blocked (for now) -- What to look for now

As I'm sure you've heard by now, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas issued a temporary injunction against Pres. Obama's 2014 executive actions, including the president's new DAPA program that would grant deferred action and work permits to illegal-alien parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and the expansion of DACA that grants the same benefits to illegal aliens who came to the United States at a young age. The key word here is temporary. As Roy pointed out in his blog, the decision should have little impact on the debate over DHS funding in the Senate, and Senate Leaders should continue to press for the defunding provisions passed by the House. If anything, Judge Hanen's ruling should reinforce the opinion shared by most Republicans (and about a dozen Democrats) that Congress has authority over immigration, not the executive branch. Further, when the Obama Administration responds to Judge Hanen's temporary injunction, the Fifth District Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court could reverse his decision, allowing the administration to immediately begin handing out work permits and social security cards to millions of illegal aliens. And as he pointed out, "[o]nce these services are provided, there will be no effective way of putting the toothpaste back in the tube." When Congress returns next week, we'll again be coming to you with daily action alerts asking you to urge your Senators to vote for the House-passed DHS funding bill, H.R.240. Should Republicans -- or Democrats -- use Judge Hanen's decision as an excuse to pass a "clean" DHS funding bill (without the defunding provisions), remind them that they'll be fully funding an executive action that has been deemed illegal by a federal judge. The Obama administration has said it will honor Judge Hanen's decision and not accept applications for either the DAPA or DACA programs and let the issue play out in the courts. DHS was prepared to start accepting applications for the expanded DACA program on Wednesday -- two days after Judge Hanen's ruling. Pres. Obama, however, has ordered DHS to continue its preparations for accepting and processing amnesty applications and granting millions of work permits and social security cards. Some in Congress, and the legal watchdog group Judicial Watch, have said the move violates Judge Hanen's ruling and has asked Congress to investigate whether this violates the federal Antideficiency Act. That law forbids the administration from spending taxpayer dollars in areas that aren't authorized by Congress. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson also made it clear that, while the ruling prohibits the administration's ability to grant work permits, it doesn't impact the agency's ability to use prosecutorial discretion in determining its enforcement priorities. Nor does the Court's order affect this Department's ability to set and implement enforcement priorities. The priorities established in my November 20, 2014 memorandum entitled "Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants" remain in full force and effect. -- Sec. Jeh Johnson So contrary to a host of media reports, Judge Hanen's ruling does not force the Obama administration to begin deporting illegal aliens that would have received deferred action under the DAPA and DACA programs. A few media outlets, to their credit, have accurately reported the impact of the temporary injunction; for a full analysis of how the media reported on the issue, see Jeremy's latest blog. While Senate Leaders contemplate ways to break the stalemate on the DHS funding bill, the administration considers its legal options, and media pundits debate over what the temporary injunction means and doesn't mean, millions of struggling American families can at least find some hope that they won't have to compete with millions of illegal aliens for new jobs in the immediate future. chris chmielenski Fri, Feb 20th

Action We've posted several new actions this week, including a new fax for all three of your Members of Congress regarding Judge Hanen's ruling and urging them to defund Pres. Obama's executive amnesties. Features We've updated our Immigration-Reduction grade cards to reflect the Senate's three votes on the DHS funding bill. Please check your Senators' grade and use our grade cards during your local activism efforts over the next several days. Account There's an App for that! Our new mobile app is now available for both Android and iPhone users. From the new app, you can send messages to elected officials by fax, sign immigration petitions, make one-click calls to Congress, read the latest news and blogs from NumbersUSA.com, and help recruit new activists through "Five Ways Immigration Impacts You" feature. Download today at the Google Play Store or the Apple Store! Language Matters THEY SAY: No Amnesty WE SAY: No Amnesty/No Work Permits Politicians routinely say they oppose amnesty for illegal aliens. But their constituents need to know how they define amnesty. If a politician says amnesty is when you create a path to citizenship for illegal aliens, you can be sure that they actually SUPPORTS amnesty because . . . . . . . an amnesty occurs as soon as you give work permits to illegal aliens. The pledge you want from your Members of Congress is not "No Amnesty." That pledge is worthless unless it is expanded to: "No Amnesty/No Work Permits."

Parsing the media coverage of the temporary injunction

This week, a federal judge temporarily halted President Obama's most recent executive actions on immigration. But what exactly does that mean? Josh Gerstein of Politico explained the decision as well as anyone.

	JEREMY BECK
Fri, Feb 20th