In an attempt to "gain traction in the early, crowded field competing for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination" by backing a lawsuit that challenges President Barack Obama's executive action benefitting undocumented immigrants, Chris Christie has disappointed many Latinos in his state who once saw him as a formidable ally, the (Bergen County, New Jersey) Record editorialized.

The Republican governor recently appointed a lawyer of Cuban descent to the New Jersey Supreme Court of and installed a Hispanic community leader on the Rutgers University board of governors. He even supported allowing the children of undocumented immigrants to attend state colleges at lower, in-state tuition rates -- a move that is highly controversial within his own party, the newspaper pointed out.

"But Christie sent shockwaves of anger through the immigrant community last week when his administration quietly joined a legal campaign to overturn President Obama's executive actions on immigration, which shielded nearly 5 million immigrants from the threat of deportation," the Record noted.

According to the Associated Press, the governor last week had signed onto an amicus brief -- a way for third parties to introduce concerns in a case -- that argued that Obama's plan would cause New Jersey and other states "irreparable injuries."

"The question presented is whether the President can unilaterally legalize the presence of millions of people and unilaterally give them myriad legal benefits, including work permits, Medicare, Social Security and tax credits," the brief noted. "Washington's attempt to turn this into a policy debate only underscores the dearth of legal arguments to support Defendants' unilateral efforts to hand out government benefits in violation of federal law," it added.

Although Christie has yet to outline his own positions on the nation's immigration system, his decision to take a public stance on the lawsuit pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit surprised many in his home state, according to NJ.com.

But the Record suspects it is all part of political speculation as Christie prepares to jump into the 2016 White House race.

"Turning hard right is a departure from his original plan, which was to glide through the party's center as the undisputed favorite of powerful establishment donors and activists" and comes after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush "claimed the establishment mantle, siphoning away donors and activists from Christie," the newspaper judged.