Washington: US President Barack Obama's executive action of shielding millions of illegal immigrants from deportation was delayed by his administration on Tuesday when the same was opposed by a judge.
The judge, Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, a city along the Texas border with Mexico, took this step after being urged by 26 states which accused Obama of exceeding his powers.
He issued a temporary court order on Monday stopping Obama's actions that bypassed a gridlocked Congress.
Hanen's action has left in dismay, the US policy towards almost 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson said, “The administration will comply with the judge's order and will delay accepting applications from some of the illegal immigrants for deportation relief and work permits that had been set to begin on Wednesday.”
The White House said the Justice Department will appeal Hanen's preliminary ruling to the majority conservative 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
The judge issued his opinion amid a fight in the Republican-led US Congress over legislation passed by the House of Representatives to allow funding for the Department of Homeland Security only if Obama's immigration actions were nullified. The department is charged with securing US borders, airports and coastal waters.
These executive orders by Obama can let up to 4.7 million illegal immigrants stay without threat of deportation. Originally, it was aimed mainly to help 4.4 million people whose children are US citizens or legal permanent residents.
