Obama Administration grants extended work permits in spite of injunction

Passport-VisaFrom Press Release

 

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee made the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that it granted 2,000 extended work permits to undocumented immigrants despite being barred by a preliminary court injunction.

“It’s remarkable that the Department of Homeland Security has continued to approve work permits and relief from removal under the President’s immigration order even after a federal judge ordered it to stop.  The last time I checked, injunctions are not mere suggestions.  They are not optional. This disregard for the court’s action is unacceptable and disturbing, especially after Secretary Johnson’s assurances that his agency would honor the injunction,” Grassley said.

Grassley recently requested an explanation for why the Department approved 100,000 applications for expanded deferred action before February 18, 2015, even though the Department told a federal court that it would not implement the President’s executive order expanding the deferred deportation program before that date. On February 16, 2015, a federal court issued the preliminary injunction prohibiting the Department from processing applications.