ACLJ Represents 27 Members of Congress – Led by Sen. Cruz and Rep. Goodlatte – in Backing 24-State Lawsuit Challenging President Obama’s Flawed Immigration Action

(Washington, DC) – The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), which focuses on constitutional law, announced today it is representing 27 Members of Congress – led by Sen. Ted Cruz, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. 

The ACLJ today filed a motion in U.S. District Court with the Brownsville Division of the Southern District of Texas requesting that the Court accept our amicus brief which backs a federal lawsuit filed by 24 states challenging the constitutionality of President Obama’s immigration action.

The proposed brief, posted here, argues that the directive, at the admission of the President, “changes the law and sets a new policy, exceeding Defendants’ constitutional authority and disrupting the delicate balance of powers.”

“The constitutional overreach by President Obama is clear and extremely troubling,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. “We strongly support the coordinated effort by 24 states to stop the President’s action. We’re pleased that so many Members of Congress wanted to join with us in this critically important amicus brief that urges the district court to grant a motion for a preliminary injunction, putting this flawed plan on hold until the constitutionality of this measure can be determined. The manner in which the President acted is unconstitutional, unlawful and a violation of the separation of powers. Impatient presidents may not violate the Constitution if they do not get their way.”

In detailed testimony before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, Sekulow told Chairman Bob Goodlatte and members of the committee why the President’s action on immigration exceeded his executive authority.

In the proposed amicus brief submitted to the federal court today, the ACLJ concludes that the “Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits because the DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) directive violates the Constitution, disrupts the separation of powers, and amounts to an abdication of their constitutional and statutory duty.”

A total of 27 Members of Congress – including three U.S. Senators – have signed on to the ACLJ amicus brief. United States Senators Ted Cruz, Roy Blunt, and John Cornyn, and Representatives Bob Goodlatte, Diane Black, Dave Brat, Jeff Duncan, John Fleming, Randy Forbes, Virginia Foxx, Trent Franks, Trey Gowdy, H. Morgan Griffith, Vicky Hartzler, Tim Huelskamp, Mike Kelly, David McKinley, Jeff Miller, Alan Nunnelee, Pete Olson, Ted Poe, Bill Posey, Tom Price, Phil Roe, Adrian Smith, Lamar Smith, and Rob Wittman are currently serving in the 113th Congress.

At the same time, the ACLJ also represents more than 60,000 Americans who have signed on to the ACLJ’s Committee to Defend the Separation of Powers.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law & Justice is headquartered in Washington, D.C.