A federal district court judge in Washington on Wednesday ordered a Dec. 22 hearing on Sheriff Joe Arpaio's lawsuit to stop the Obama administration from implementing executive orders giving deportation relief and granting work permits to as many as 6 million illegal immigrants.
Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered President Barack Obama to respond to Arpaio's lawsuit by Dec. 15, said the sheriff's attorney, Larry Klayman.
Arpaio, the tough-talking sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, sued the administration the morning after Obama announced his unilateral actions in a national prime-time speech on Nov. 20.
His lawsuit was the first challenging the orders. A coalition of 18 states, led by Texas, has since sued the administration over the actions.
"We are very pleased that Judge Howell has ordered an expedited hearing on our motion for preliminary injunction which asks to preserve the status quo and stop the implementation of President Obama’s executive order," Larry Klayman, who represents Arpaio in the lawsuit, told Newsmax.
He is a former federal prosecutor and founder of the watchdog group Freedom Watch. Klayman sued the National Security Agency last year over its massive data-collection programs after leaks by former contractor Edward Snowden.
"The executive order violates the Constitution, as it seeks to circumvent the powers which the Framers delegated to Congress," he said.
"Importantly, if this executive order is not preliminarily enjoined at the outset of this litigation, severe irreparable harm will result, as it thwarts Sheriff Arpaio’s duties and responsibilities as the chief law enforcement officer of Maricopa County, Arizona."
In the lawsuit, Arpaio contended that Obama acted outside his constitutional authority in bypassing Congress.
It has asked the court to block the changes that would make as many as 6 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally eligible for work permits and for protection from deportation.
Arpaio, who has sparred with the administration over many issues immigration-related issues, said he sued on behalf of himself and all Americans.
"I am not seeking to myself enforce the immigration laws as this is the province of the federal government," he said when Klayman filed the suit last month. "Rather, I am seeking to have the president and the other defendants obey the U.S. Constitution."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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