17 States Sue Over Obama Immigration Plan

More than a third of the states have joined a lawsuit fighting President Obama's sweeping executive action on immigration. The suit brought by 17 states against the federal government was filed in Texas and announced by Greg Abbott, the state attorney general and governor-elect, reports the Los Angeles Times. He accuses Obama of "abdicating his responsibility to faithfully enforce laws that were duly enacted by Congress and attempting to rewrite immigration laws, which he has no authority to do." The filing in federal court says the suit "is not about immigration. It is about the rule of law, presidential power, and the structural limits of the US Constitution."

The other states suing are Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Supporters of Obama's immigration order called the suit grandstanding, and the administration says the order was legal and has precedent, reports the Wall Street Journal. "The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that federal officials can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws, and we are confident that the president's executive actions are well within his legal authorities," a White House spokesman says. (More immigration stories.)