Perry: Immigration stoppage a ‘victory for the rule of law’

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) hailed the decision of a federal judge in his state to temporarily block President Obama’s executive action on immigration, calling it a “victory for the rule of law.”

“You got 26 states that are standing up and saying that this country is based on the rule of law — you can’t have presidents just willy-nilly going around and using their executive fiat whenever they feel it’s in their best interest or what they want to see,” Perry said Thursday on Fox’s “The Kelly File.”

{mosads}The former governor, who is weighing a White House bid, issued a statement earlier this week praising the decision, while a potential 2016 rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), lauded the decision as a “turning point” in the immigration fight. 

Cruz appeared at a press conference Thursday alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican state officials to praise U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s injunction against Obama’s action, which would have deferred deportation for up to 5 million illegal immigrants and provide work visas.

The White House is mulling its response to the injunction. Obama has said the Justice Department will appeal the decision while arguing that it’s unrealistic to deport an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.

“I don’t think anyone with a sense of reality thinks that we’re going to ship 11 or 12 million people back to where they’re from,” Perry said on Fox when asked about Obama’s statement.

“Congress could have dealt with this years ago but they haven’t. So this isn’t just Barack Obama’s problem,” he said, adding Congress has been “do nothing” about securing the border.