Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Obama administration's plan to stop the deportation of young illegal immigrants who are willing to work.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 10 ICE employees. The Associated Press reports:
"The 22-page filing contends that the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals plan violates federal law and forces ICE employees to break the law by not arresting certain illegal immigrants. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton are named as defendants."
Kobach authored the recent Arizona immigration law SB 1070 and has been an advisor to GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on immigration.
The suit filed Thursday reflects Republican opposition to the Obama administration's plan, which allows some illegal immigrants under the age of 30 to defer their deportation from the country for two-year work visas.
The Hill blog reports that:
"The young illegal people who are eligible to delay their deportation must have a clean criminal record, be enrolled or graduated from an education program and demonstrate a financial need to work, among other requirements."
The law Kobach wrote for Arizona, sometimes referred to as the "papers please" law, allows the state to criminalize any immigrant who cannot immediately present his or her legal paperwork. Opponents say the law allows racial profiling while supporters like its tough stance toward illegal immigration.