Work permits issued after immigration action delayed

HOUSTON (AP) – The U.S. government says it “erroneously” awarded three-year work permits to 2,000 people under President Barack Obama’s executive immigration action after a judge had put the plan on hold.

In a court document filed Thursday, the Justice Department says the government “sincerely regrets” the error and is taking steps to fix it.

Obama’s immigration action was put on hold by a Feb. 16 injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas.

Hanen had criticized Justice Department lawyers after they acknowledged that more than 108,000 people had received three-year deportation reprieves as well as work permits when the lawyers had previously told the judge that no action would be taken prior to the injunction.

A decision from an appeals court is pending on whether to lift the injunction.