Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) signed an amicus brief with 180 colleagues in support of the President’s appeal in the Fifth Circuit case of Texas v. United States.

“Everyone agrees, our immigration system is broken, but House Republican leaders have refused to allow a vote on bipartisan, commonsense comprehensive immigration reform legislation,” DelBene said. “If Republican leaders had allowed a vote last year on H.R. 15 – the bipartisan bill I helped introduce – it likely would have passed with a strong majority.”

More than 180 House Democrats filed the brief on Monday in the appeal of Texas v. United States, which has reached the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals following a federal district court ruling that granted a preliminary injunction to temporarily block the Secretary of Homeland Security from implementing the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program and expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, announced by the President last November as part of his immigration executive actions. 

DelBene and the members who signed the brief are expressing support for the deferred action programs.

“In light of House Republicans’ consistent failure to act on immigration reform, I understand President Obama’s decision to take reasonable steps within his authority to provide temporary relief to the families being torn apart by our current system,” DelBene said.

As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, DelBene has led efforts to enact comprehensive immigration reform by helping introduce the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act (H.R. 15) last Congress. She has also consistently said the only long-term solution to fix our broken immigration system will require congressional action.

Full text of the brief can be found here.

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