What Lawsuit May Mean for Obama Immigration Order

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration is facing a legal challenge.

The American Center for Law and Justice, is representing 27 members of Congress in a federal lawsuit filed by 24 states challenging the constitutionality of President Obama's immigration action.

The members of Congress are led by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The ACLJ filed a motion Wednesday in U.S. District Court with the Brownsville Division of the Southern District of Texas requesting that the Court accept its amicus brief which argues that the directive, at the admission of the president, "changes the law and sets a new policy, exceeding Defendants' constitutional authority and disrupting the delicate balance of powers."

***In an exclusive interview with CBN News, Jordan Sekulow with the ACLJ, explained what the lawsuit could potentially mean for the executive order. Click the player to see his interview with CBN News' Mark Martin.

"The constitutional overreach by President Obama is clear and extremely troubling," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.

"We strongly support the coordinated effort by 24 states to stop the President's action. We're pleased that so many Members of Congress wanted to join with us in this critically important amicus brief that urges the district court to grant a motion for a preliminary injunction, putting this flawed plan on hold until the constitutionality of this measure can be determined," Sekulow said.

"The manner in which the President acted is unconstitutional, unlawful and a violation of the separation of powers. Impatient presidents may not violate the Constitution if they do not get their way," he said.

In detailed testimony before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, Sekulow told Chairman Bob Goodlatte and members of the committee why he believes the President's action on immigration exceeded his executive authority.

In the proposed amicus brief submitted to the federal court today, the ACLJ concludes that the "Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits because the Department of Homeland Security directive violates the Constitution, disrupts the separation of powers, and amounts to an abdication of their constitutional and statutory duty."

A total of 27 Members of Congress - including three U.S. senators - have signed on to the ACLJ amicus brief.

At the same time, the ACLJ also represents more than 60,000 Americans who have signed on to the ACLJ's Committee to Defend the Separation of Powers.