Gov.-elect Abbott meets with President Obama, doesn’t discuss immigration lawsuit
WASHINGTON — Texas Attorney General and Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said in Washington today that he and President Barack Obama did not discuss the lawsuit Abbott filed on Wednesday over the president’s recent executive action on immigration.
Abbott and governors-elect from six other states met with the president today, but the conversation centered mostly around jobs, infrastructure, and education
“Today was not the setting or the time to talk about legal issues that will be resolved in the courtroom by lawyers, so that issue was not addressed,” Abbott said.
Abbott, along with officials from 16 other states, filed suit on Wednesday against the Obama administration. The lawsuit marks the 31st time that Abbott has sued the president.
The executive actions would temporarily shelter over 5 million immigrants from deportation. They would also prioritize the deportation of illegal immigrants with a criminal record, and bolster security along the southern border.
Abbott and the other plaintiffs allege that Obama unilaterally changed the law and violated the Constitution.
The suit also claims that the administration’s actions “cause a humanitarian crisis” by catalyzing “an unprecedented surge of families crossing illegally into the U.S.”
Abbott also said that the actions would come at a steep cost to Texas and its taxpayers, since the state would foot the bill for increased border security, as well as social services for immigrants.
On Wednesday, Abbott estimated that the executive actions would cost Texas “well over $100 million,” a tally that includes expenses for law enforcement, healthcare, and education.
“It will be a lot of taxpayer dollars, which is exactly why we are seeking emergency relief to ensure that we get this issue addressed as quickly as possible,” Abbott said.
Members of the Obama administration have defended the actions’ legality.
“The law here and the precedent here is pretty clear as it relates to the legal authority that the president invoked,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Friday.
Even though Abbott didn’t speak to Obama about immigration, he said he raised “questions with multiple officials in the administration about the challenges that Texas is having on the border.”
President Obama said he was looking forward to working with the governors on issues like education, transportation, and health care.
“My main message to them is, ‘We’re here to help.’ The good news about governors is they usually don’t have time to be ideological because people expect them to deliver. That’s very much my attitude going into my last two years of office,” Obama said.
Though Abbott said he was “particularly pleased” by the some of president’s message — especially on reducing regulation to create jobs — he conceded that an ideological gulf still exists between him and the president.
“There are a lot of different connector points where we share common ground. Obviously there are differences,” Abbott said. “We will have to agree to disagree on those differences.”