>> in ghana, i was not going to be able to become the person i wanted to be. >> every monday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera part of our special black history month coverage on al jazeera america night. hello, i'm ray suarez, wednesday was to be the day people covered by the executive action could start their application for deferred deportation. after the ruling of a federal district court judge in texas, there'll be no action protecting the undocumented from being sent home. at least for now. it's a last minute monkey wrej winning prays and leaving

illegal immigrants in the lurch. what no one knows is whether it's temporary. heidi zhou-castro will be with us from texas in studio. we get reaction from a mother who faces deportation, and later funding for the department of homeland security. libby casey joins us about the feud between the white house and the hill and whether the public's hands are strengthened. it's "inside story". coming out of the holiday £ millions of people potentially covered by the president's executive access on immigration got a nasty surprise. federal judge ruled in texas, that it was not in the president's power to make

millions of people living and worked in country a lower priority for deportation. in a 126 page ruling. the states are concern the about security and their own resources drained by the territories. and it has and will lead to domestic security issues affecting citizenry. the influx is causing the states to experience law enforce. problems. the result is that many bear the brunt of illegal immigration, this examines the issue relating to immigration, which necessarily involves questions of federalism, separation of powers and ability of the judiciary to hear and resolve a dispute. this ruling is a response to a

lawsuit born out of texas, and joined by 25 other states, mostly in the south and midwest, to counter president obama's directive in november, temporarily blocked. a policy that would have shielded 5 million from deportation and allowed a number to work legally. >> keep in mind that this is something that we necessarily have to make choices about, because we have 11 million people here, who we are not all going to deport. many are neighbours, working in the community. many of the children are u.s. citizens. i said throughout the process that the only way we'll get a bren immigration system fully fixed is by congress acting. and we know that there has been bipartisan support in the past for immigration reform.

i held off taking the executive actions until we had exhausted all possibilities of getting congressional action done. the judge's ruling comes a day before eligible people could submit applications, to take advantage of the president's policy. heidi zhou-castro is in brownsville texas and joins us now. i'll assume that this is not a step that a taken lightly to take down a programme this big. ruling. >> it's 150 pages wrong. in it executive action warranted a substantive change in immigration policy. obviously that is legalese for what does it mean. it means that this executive it action was not just guidance, but a change in immigration

law in the few of the judge. it would have required legislative action or under the administrative procedural act it could have happened after an appeared of public comment and opinion. >> let's talk about the mechanics involved. the majority of states were against executive action. the order applies across the nation, and even in the 12 states that had filed the brief, in support of the d administration, despite that, this judge does rule until, of course, there's an appeals court

that changes the ruling or it is appealed to the supreme court. >> the next step is to the fifth schett based in new orleans. how long does something like that take. would we expect to see that case get there soon. >> well, soon is a relative term. the administration could file for an emergency appeal which it is considering. that, alone takes three weeks to get a result. without an emergency appeal, it could take months. >> heidi zhou-castro in brownsville texas, thanks for being with us. families relieved when president obama announced deferred action for undocumented parents may now rethink their optimism. joining us to discuss a reasonable response is graca martinez, a field organiser for united we dream. her mother would be eligible for

deferred action if president obama's policy stays. news? >> this morning i had a conversation with her, she took it like a champ. she said this is expected, i thought republicans would go against this. i'm not losing hope. >> what kinds of things does she have to put on hold to start the application process. >> she can't get the driver's licence that she needs. she's six hours away. she won't be able to do that because of republican attacks. >> how is her - you mentioned the driver's licence, how is her life constrained by her status. what can she do that her neighbours can? >> she can't hug her husband.

he was deported in 2008. our family has not been reunited since then. you know, this measure would allow her to be safe and know her kids won't have the same fear or anxiety that she would be reported like our father was. republicans and this ruling is mind. >> a lot of men's, not a small number, hear the story and say your father and mother should have been deported. the reason they are apart is your mother chooses not to return to mexico. >> i would say no family should be separated. my father built the family, part of this country and all families deserve to stay together. this is our home. we have been here

nearly 26 years. there is nothing to return to. >> you have younger siblings born in the united states? >> yes, two older sisters, one is a kindergarten teacher and the other is a grad student. they are legal citizensments. >> because you live in texas, their's. >> from my sister's. college was, you know, a shooting star for me. it was hard. it was hard for me to get the financial support that i needed to do that. that was different for us. that was one thing that unit us. their own citizen status, our pain in losing our father and fear of losing our mother. >> is this a detour, a delay. is your family optimistic that

this will happen, or is there a danger that your mother may remain undocumented and status future. >> my family is ticking it like a lot of families across the country. one is disbelief that after all the victory that the regime gets us to get the action of parents and expansion. daka, that they are doing a last-ditch evered. ffort. the other is i'm ready to be accountable and have a driver's licence and visit my loved one. the or is i'll defy people that push he into the shadows, and come into the light. my mother is today looking at her documents putting them together. my sisters and i are making sure we don't spend uch, so we can apply. that is replicated in millions of households.

>> we are a few weeks short, two weeks left in the obama administration. do you think your family's status can be settled in a temporary way during that time? >> yes, i think the power of immigrant youth in our community will show up and ensure that people see that republican tactics are not good for the country, that my mother deserves to live with peace of mind and that our parent or mother at least is safe at home. >> thank you after the full court judge's ruling, the next stop for the hot potato is the fifth circuit court, where a panel of judges will hear an appeal, pitting the obama administration against the state, suing the president over executive administration. we'll go over the issues and get ideas of whether the legal challenge is a bump in the road for the white house,

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>> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. monday, 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. welcome back to "inside story" on "al jazeera america" are. i'm ray suarez. a federal judge concluded that a group suing the obama administration has standing in attempts to stop people living and working in u.s. legally, those with legally resident children. the president announced an order dropping them to the bottom of the list for deportation. with the injunction in place, they are in a kind of limbo until higher appellate levels hear the case. keep in mind the previous deferred action for childhood

arrivals or daka will remain in place. joining us is josh blackman, sant professor of law. and the executive director of center. >> let me start with you. hasn't earlier supreme court decisions made it clear that there's federal authority in the area, that the states can't make policy. >> thank you for having me. the supreme court explained that in immigration, it's the congress who makes authority, and gives the ability to enforce that. it declines to deport four or 5 million people. it is not controlled by a number of supreme court decisions. the fact that the district court judge pronounced the state as having standing, that's a big deal, isn't it?

>> this is based on a 2003 decision in massachusetts. they claimed the bush administration was not passing varies environmental rules. because they were not passing, there would be climate change. because there was climate change, seas would rise, and the coastline of massachusetts would be injured. the supreme court in an opinion said yes, massachusetts can sue the administration. and it was based on that that president obama's administration was sued. >> i guess there is a law, unintended consequences when a case on global warming has an effect n immigration law. one thing i heard a lot about is talk about the take care law. what is it. why is it important in this conversation. >> the take care clause is at the crux of the lawsuit the states are arguing that the administration failed to take

care of enforcing all the laws. the way that josh explained, the administration is failing to deport 4 million, 5 million. the supreme court in heck ler v shani has been clear that the take care cause does not mean that every technical violation of a law must be enforced. there's a recognition and legal precedent. constitutional precedent that law enforcement agencies has the decision, the discretion to resources. >> the president was careful to say, yes, there is discretion. but there's not unlimited discretion, and at the heart of this case is an argument about how much it too much. >> that's right. this is not unlimited discretion. what the administration here decided is they get appropriations from the department of homeland security. congress said to the department of homeland security, you decide thou use the budget, the

resources. you must deport people who are national security risks, other than that you get to decide. in fact, in 2012, in arizona versus the united states. the supreme court said the federal government gets to decide. the supreme court explicitly gave examples like they have the expression to decide not to deport parents of u.s. citizens, workers, and that is - there's a difference of opinion and we believe that the law is so well established in this area. not just us, but the immigration law center. scores of scholars believe that the president acted wholly within his legal authority. >> this is great. i get to do the moot court of the air. point. >> i should disclose i did file on behalf of cato, which argues

it's not consistent with past action. the deferred action, president's deferring deportation of americans. each involves a bridge. in survive there were a number of students, foreign students with visas. they were shut down, thee couldn't keep the credit load. president bush said i will not deport you, register at the university, get the credit load up. i'll hold on to you. this is an example of deferred action. someone had a legal precedence, something happened, but there was a bridge, where the legal precedence would remain. every incidence, there has been a bridge. on the other side there's no legal status awaiting the people benefitting. there's no action. it's not an effort to bridge the

gap between one stat and the other. it's application of the law. it's an effort to bypass, and the president has not taken care of the laws. dhaka was not touched by the ruling it's a policy made in much the same way as the one the judge put the breaks on last night. is it significant that dhaka is allowed to stand while the new policy is not. >> the answer is simple. texas didn't challenge daka, just the 2014 policy, so it was not at issue. >> the reason they did not challenge is the same legality authority, underpinnings of daka in 2012 is the same sass in 2014. the reason texas did not file or challenge daka's reality is it's

political. it's not about the constitution, it's about the republican party's fear of the dem j graphic shifting in the country, they are politicizing everything that the country has done. the jun, in today's decision, did not say that the president abdicated his authority, it ruled the temporary injunction is based on a procedural issue which the judge said the administration failed to follow the administrative procedures act. we believe that is not the case, dhaka didn't go through the... >> you heard the professor say it's not a matter of ab solutes, but degree, and gave the example of previous visa holders not deported out of discretion, but there was no bridge, not people present. they were never legally present. >> deferred action insists in

the counter regulations and ina. the president is using the regulatory system. he is not creating anything new. there's no bridge to go to. it's a difference of opinion. those of us practicing the law believes the president acted with full legal authority. we are confident that on appeal this injunction will be reversed. thank you both. still ahead on "inside story", before the judge ruled, there was a battle royal brewing between the white house, and the senate leadership to register opposition to the deferred policy. funding for the department of homeland security was kept out. money runs out at the end of the moonted. break. stay with us.

welcome back to "inside story". i'm ray suarez. there's a wrinkle to the obama administration policy of deportation, falling in the middle of a squirmish between

the white house and congress over the funding of the policy. >> congress refused to move ahead with fund the dhs for the whole year. money will run out. speaker of the house john boehner speak to fox's chris wallace over the weekend. >> can you promise the american people with a terror threat growing that you will not allowing funding for the department of homeland security to run out. >> democrats are the ones putsing us in this performs, it's up to the democrats to get their act together. >> my advice is if people are concerned about immigration, borders, keeping criminals out of this country, they should

work together, with the administration for a comprehensive policy allowing us to be a nation of laws and an nation of immigrants. certainly they need to start funding the department of homeland security so they can go forward with the functions republicans say they want carried out. including strong border. >> joining me to discuss funding. "al jazeera america"s washington correspondent libby casey. haven't we been here before, where there has been deadlines and must do by certain dates, and everyone goes over the cliff. here is what is different of the the fight is between republicans in the house, and republicans in the senate. when the republicans took the majority coming into the year, it was an opportunity to unite and find purpose. we are pitting the house against the senate to find out what bill can be passed.

the question is who would take the blame if they go over the cliff. would the americans blame the democrats or republicans, republicans. >> now, this only exists as a battle because of republicans. but when john boehner says that senate democrats are stockholders in the ty up, don't they have cases to make there. >> john boehner thinks he does. the house passed a bill to fund the department of homeland security. there's a catch. it's a big catch. it would roll back president obama's executive actions on immigration. that is unacceptable and there's enough of them in the body to philly butter and prevent the legislation passing the senate. republicans tried three times to get it through but haven't been able to. people like james conlee are saying it's up to the house to

give them something that can pass with the body. that is where the standoff takes place, passing a bill. >> when they say that, what do they mean? >> no strings attached. no caveats, and they like the politics of that word. sounds good. a clean funding bill. republicans saw this as an opportunity to push back with the president's actions. what happens went the department of homeland security is funded. >> it's not like it all shuts down. many that work for dhs are vital to security and the country functioning. others would be furloughed. the last time we saw a shut down. 200,000 d.h.a.

employees show up for work. but furloughs would happen to tens of thousands, and the white house is warning there can be circumstances. how severe would it be. hitting law enforcement. there would be n impact. we'll know whether it will happen by the end of next week. >> we have four legislative days. thanks for joining us. get in touch on facebook, follow us on twitter and watch us next time in washington. i'm ray

. >> hours before a u.n. emergency meeting egypt launches a diplomatic offensive for a joint coalition against i.s.i.l. welcome to al jazeera, i'm live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, hope for peace in syria. the government offers to suspend air strikes on aleppo a ceasefire rages on in eastern ukraine for the control of rail hub debaltseve and muslim