Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee has filed articles of impeachment against a federal judge after she ruled to block the president’s rescission of deportation protections for Somalis.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs issued an administrative stay on Friday to stop the administration from deporting Somalis who had been granted Temporary Protection Status.
‘This judicial activist’s obstruction of the people’s will must be stopped. Judge Burroughs must be impeached.’
Ogles fired back in a statement on Saturday, threatening to impeach Burroughs, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama. On Monday, he filed the articles.
“America is not Africa’s dumping ground. We will end Temporary Protected Status, remove those who have no lawful right to remain, and put the sovereignty of the American people FIRST,” he wrote on social media.
Ogles explained the justification for the impeachment in a statement to Just the News.
“SCOTUS made it very clear that lower courts cannot suspend TPS. Yet, an Obama-appointed judge is defying the court and the Constitution in an attempt to subvert the will of the president,” Ogles said. “This judicial activist’s obstruction of the people’s will must be stopped. Judge Burroughs must be impeached.”
Burroughs issued the stay after African Communities Together and other plaintiffs accused the administration of discrimination on the basis of race as well as national origin. The plaintiffs had changed their lawsuit in order to fit the standards the Supreme Court had placed on federal judges blocking TPS terminations.
The same judge had also issued a previous stay over the TPS program. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival issued a stern condemnation of Burroughs’ latest decision.
“Judge Allison Burroughs just entered yet another order preventing the termination of Somalia TPS,” Percival posted Friday. “There is no serious debate about what is going on in these cases — defiance, obstruction, and delay.”
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The process to remove a judge is difficult and unlikely. Ogles has begun the process, but a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives will need to approve the motion.
Then, the articles would go to the U.S. Senate for trial, and two-thirds of the senators would need to vote to convict to remove Burroughs from office.
Only eight federal judges have been convicted and removed in U.S. history.
Ogles is facing a fierce and well-funded challenge in the Republican primary, and Democrats are also targeting his seat as a possible pickup for them in the general election.
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