US government asks for end to hold on immigration action

HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. government is asking an appeals court to lift a temporary hold on President Barack Obama's executive action to shield millions of immigrants from deportation.

Obama's plan — which could spare from deportation as many as 5 million people who are in the U.S. illegally — had been blocked last month by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas, after a lawsuit filed by 26 states.

The Justice Department asked Judge Hanen to lift a preliminary injunction while the case was appealed. But the judge put that on hold pending a hearing next week to review allegations the government misled him about part of the immigration plan.

Justice Department attorneys today filed an emergency motion with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to lift Judge Hanen's injunction.