Judge questions whether Obama administration misled him on immigration policy

BROWNSVILLE - - A federal judge here on Thursday raised the specter of sanctions against the U.S. government on Thursday as he gave a tongue-lashing to lawyers for the Obama administration for misleading him about a new immigration program at the center of a national lawsuit.

"You said it's not happening," U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen said, referring to the program. "And like an idiot I believed that."

In January, Justice Department lawyers had assured Hanen that President Barack Obama's directive to shield up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation was not being put into effect while a lawsuit filed by 26 states against the administration moved through the courts.

But this month, the U.S. government admitted it granted 108,000 immigrants, who already were protected from deportation, three-year renewals of their deferred status, instead of two years. The three-year deferrals are one aspect of the new program that's under dispute.

In February, Hanen granted the 26 states a preliminary injunction halting the new immigration program, which Obama had put in place through executive action Nov. 20.

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