Idaho Joins Coalition of States Suing President for Executive Actions

Austin, Texas (KMVT-TV / KSVT-TV) — Texas is leading a 17-state coalition suing over President Barack Obama's recently announced executive actions on immigration, arguing in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the move "tramples" key portions of the U.S. Constitution.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, who signed on to the lawsuit said, “Quite simply the lawsuit Idaho joined today is about the Rule of Law and respecting the separation of powers spelled out in the U.S. Constitution,” Wasden said. “The President’s action overrides our system of checks and balances.

A president just can’t on his own authorize that a federal law be ignored and replace it with an Executive Order.” “The approach being taken today by my office is two pronged. I have also signed a letter being circulated among my fellow Attorneys General demanding that Congress step up now, do its job and fix the immigration problems vexing Idaho and the rest of the nation.” Many top Republicans have denounced Obama's order, which was designed to spare millions living illegally in the United States from deportation.

But Texas Gov.-elect and current attorney general Greg Abbott took it a step further, filing a formal legal challenge in federal court in the Southern District of Texas. His state is joined by 16 other mostly conservative ones, largely in the south and Midwest, such as Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana and the Carolinas. They aren't seeking monetary damages, but instead want the courts to block Obama's actions.