Justice Dept. objects to judge’s order for ethics classes, disclosure of immigrant data
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/31/justice-dept-objects-to-judges-order-for-ethics-cl/ By Andrea Noble - The Washington Times - Tuesday, May 31, 2016
The Justice Department fired back at the Texas judge who ordered its attorneys to undertake ethics classes after finding they misled the court in a high-profile challenge to President Obama’s deportation amnesty — saying the order was beyond the judge’s authority and would cost millions to implement.
In a motion filed Tuesday asking for a stay of the order, in which U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen said DOJ attorneys were “intentionally deceptive,” government attorneys outlined their objections to both the training requirements and his requirement that by June 10 the Department of Homeland Security turn over identifying information for 50,000 immigrants who entered the United States illegally and are now participants in a government program that shields them from deportation.
“The sanctions ordered by the Court far exceed the bounds of appropriate remedies for what this Court concluded were intentional misrepresentations, a conclusion that was reached without proper procedural protections and that lacks sufficient evidentiary support,” DOJ attorneys wrote their motion for the stay.
The DOJ, which already requires attorneys to take annual ethics and professionalism courses, argued that Judge Hanen’s new ethics course requirement would result in direct costs and lost productivity equal to between $1 million and $1.5 million this year. The DOJ estimates the costs to send more than 3,000 attorneys to ethics classes could total between $5 million to $8 million over five years.
Additionally, the DOJ argued against Judge Hanen’s other requirement — that DHS turn over “all personal identifiers” and “all available contact information” for approximately 50,000 immigrants who received three-year deferred action.
Doing so “could undermine public trust in DHS’s commitment to protecting the confidential information contained in immigration files and will create a significant burden,” DOJ attorneys wrote.
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The lawsuit stems from President Obama’s policy, announced in November 2014, to try to grant a proactive three-year stay of deportation, and legal work permits, to as many as 5 million illegal immigrants. Texas has led a group of 26 states in suing over the policy, arguing the proposal violated both federal law and overstepped the president’s constitutional powers.
But as the case has moved forward, government attorneys found themselves in hot water.
Judge Hanen, of the Southern District of Texas, issued a blistering order on May 19, writing that DOJ attorneys knew the administration was approving amnesty applications but actively hid that information both from him and from the 26 states that had sued to stop the amnesty.
Even after the court ordered a halt to the whole amnesty, Judge Hanen said DHS defied the court and approved several thousand more applications. He went on to count at least four separate times the government’s attorneys misled him.
