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Seventeen states, led by Texas Attorney General and Governor-elect Greg Abbott, are suing the Obama administration over the president's recent executive actions on immigration.

In a statement, Abbott said the president’s unilateral action to offer deportation relief to millions of undocumented immigrants “tramples the U.S. Constitution’s Take Care Clause and federal law.”

Abbott, the Republican elected to succeed outgoing Gov. Rick Perry next year, has promised to bring the lawsuit since Obama announced his executive actions last month.

The coalition of states involved in the suit includes: Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The case was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas.

- Carrie Dann