Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and other top DHS officials have been ordered to appear in a South Texas Federal Court after violating an injunction put forth by Federal Judge Andrew Hanen.
Hanen ruled in February that many states, including Texas, did not have to implement measures of the DACA program and the DAPA Memorandum. However, DHS officials violated the injunction set forth by the February ruling by issuing approximately 2,000 deferred actions against illegal aliens for three years.
In May, Hanen found that the defendants, Homeland Security officials, sought to keep 1,163 documents related to the deferred actions out of the court using a variety of privileges.
"According to Defendants, the 1,163 pages of documents include drafts of the March 3 advisory, communications about it, and lists of who knew about and approved the advisory and when. Res. 25, ECF No. 243. But Defendants withhold those documents, broadly asserting a host of privileges — attorney-client, work-product, and deliberative-process — and some documents a “presidential-communications” privilege… Moreover, none of Defendants’ claimed privileges offer the “virtually absolute” (Resp. 23) protection Defendants seek."
DHS officials have called for an investigation into the 2,000 deferred actions, but that did not please Hanen. "In the Court’s discretion, [oversight] could range from a requirement of weekly or monthly sworn certification of compliance with the injunction to the appointment of an external compliance monitor to oversee Defendants’ expense," writes Hanen.
But nothing has changed for DHS officials, said Hanen in his July 7 order.
"The Government promised this Court on May 7, 2015, that “immediate steps” were being taken to remedy the violations of the injunction… Yet, as of June 23, 2015 — some six weeks after making that representation — the situation has not been rectified."
Hanen called the DHS officials' actions after the May 7 Advisory "unacceptable" and "completely unprofessional." He concludes his order:
"Furthermore, at some point, when a non-compliant party refuses to bring its conduct into compliance, one must conclude that the conduct is not accidental, but deliberate. If these violations have not been corrected by the end of this month, absent very compelling evidence, which this Court will be glad to consider, the only logical conclusion is that the Government needs a stronger motivation to comply with lawful court orders."
Hanen Order July 7 by joshblackman
Texas v. United States - Response May 7 Advisory by joshblackman
H/T The Daily Caller