National immigration groups are expressing outrage with a Texas judge’s sidelining of President Obama’s worker amnesty program for illegal immigrants, and some of the country’s top labor unions are moving fast to organize a national protest to the decision.
Led by the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union and even the American Civil Liberties Union, demonstrations in 60 cities across 19 states will take place as early as today to cheer on Obama and shout down the ruling.
“Despite Texas court ruling and political attacks against immigrants, Dreamers, immigrant families, advocates rally in 60 cities in 19 states to support and defend their recent immigration victory,” said a protest notice that detailed the involvement of several Democratic House members.
Many of the protests has already been planned to take place during the congressional recess for Presidents’ Day, but took on a new and more urgent meaning Monday when a federal judge in South Texas temporarily blocked Obama’s executive action on immigration.
Pro-immigration groups also came out in anger, slapping the judge with siding with “anti-immigration” Republicans in Congress who want to strip funding for Obama’s plan.
“This injunction not only temporarily blocks millions of people from seeking the president’s administrative relief, but it is an attempt by anti-immigrant legislators and members of Congress to confuse and shake people’s confidence in the integrity of the deferred action programs, and delays implementation of the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] and [Deferred Action for Parental Accountability] initiatives,” said Eddie Carmona campaign manager for PICO National Network’s Campaign for Citizenship.
“We will not stand by while proponents of the lawsuit play politics with peoples’ lives,” he added.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
