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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Twenty-four states have signed onto the legal challenge against President Barack Obama over his executive action on immigration, incoming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday.
Abbott, the Texas attorney general who will assume his new role in January, is leading the coalition.
"The president's proposed executive decree violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, circumvents the will of the American people and is an affront to the families and individuals who follow our laws to legally immigrate to the United States," he said in a written statement.
Obama drew fire from Republicans when he announced last month that he would use the executive branch to temporarily delay deportation for up to 5 million people who came to the United States illegally.
When members of Congress question whether I have the authority to do this, I have one answer: Yes, and pass a bill.
–Pres. Obama
The President and his staff have long argued that Obama has the legal right to take action, saying he only acted because Congress failed to pass immigration reform.
"When members of Congress question whether I have the authority to do this, I have one answer: Yes, and pass a bill," Obama said Tuesday at an event in Nashville.
The Texas-led coalition of states in the legal challenge consist of: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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