Federal judge Andrew Hanan of the Brownsville, Texas federal court issued a temporary order blocking implementation, scheduled to start Wednesday, of President Obama’s amnesty program. Acting on a lawsuit brought by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Judge Hanan:

…wrote in a memorandum accompanying his order that the lawsuit should go forward and that without a preliminary injunction the states will "suffer irreparable harm in this case."

"The genie would be impossible to put back into the bottle," he wrote, adding that he agreed with the plaintiffs' argument that legalizing the presence of millions of people is a "virtually irreversible" action.

The order will appealed by the Obama administration:

"The district court's decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect and the Department of Justice has indicated that it will appeal that decision," the statement said. An appeal would be heard by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

USA Today explains the background:

The injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, cites a failure by the White House to comply with a law detailing how the federal government must establish regulations, according to legal documents and theAustin American-Statesman.

"President Obama abdicated his responsibility to uphold the United States Constitution when he attempted to circumvent the laws passed by Congress via executive fiat, and Judge Hanen's decision rightly stops the president's overreach in its tracks," Abbott said in a statement, the American-Statesman reported. "We live in a nation governed by a system of checks and balances, and the President's attempt to by-pass the will of the American people was successfully checked today."

The injunction is related to a program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents. The program allowed undocumented parents of lawful U.S. citizens or permanent residents to defer deportation and seek job benefits.

President Obama has been foiled, a least temporarily. Liberals tend to love federal courts, but not this time.

Update (hat tip: Carol Brown). Here is a video [corrected] of Chris Wallace interviewing Gov. Abbott on his lawsuit last December: