U.S. Asks Texas Judge to Put Immigration Ruling on Hold

The federal judge’s decision in Brownsville, Texas, blocked the administration’s plans.

President Barack Obama speaks during the Democratic National Committee general session February 20, 2014 in Washington, DC.
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

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By Laurel Brubaker Calkins

February 23, 2015 at 4:39 PM UTC

Updated on

February 23, 2015 at 7:11 PM UTC

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The Obama administration asked a Texas judge to suspend an order that blocked a plan to let as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants stay in the country, warning that the Justice Department will go over his head if he takes too long.

The administration gave U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas, until close of business Wednesday to act on his own before it goes directly to an appeals court in a bid to temporarily set aside his order. The move marks an escalation by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, against a coalition of largely Republican-led states that oppose his expanded programs as a form of blanket amnesty for some illegal residents.