Court blocks Obama’s amnesty decrees

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, ruled 2-1 against the Obama administration’s appeal of a lower-court ruling in Texas that halted the plan.

Rather than appeal for a re-hearing, the National Immigration Law Center said that the administration should request a Supreme Court appeal immediately, according to Marielena Hincapie, as it directly affects those children who are already USA citizens because their parents would not be deported, at least temporarily.

The program, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, would shield more than 4 million undocumented immigrants in the country from deportation proceedings and allow them to apply for a three-year work permit.

It said after the ruling that it ‘remains committed to taking steps that will resolve the immigration litigation as quickly as possible’.

The administration’s decision was widely expected, and sets up a potential high-stakes court battle over Obama’s immigration policies in the midst of an election year.

In her dissent, Judge Carolyn Dineen King said the courts should not inject themselves into prosecutorial discretion, the power U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the federal government have to influence a deportation case.

“The 5th circuit, if they had decided the case before October 23, they would get into this first term of the Supreme Court, because it’s after October 23rd, it’ll probably get thrown into the next term”, Perez said. Appeals over the injunction might take months. U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen granted the temporary injunction preventing the order’s implementation this past February, agreeing with the states that legalizing the presence of so many people would be a “virtually irreversible” action that would cause the states “irreparable harm”.

But the plaintiffs applauded it. “The court’s decision is a vindication for the Rule of Law and the Constitution”, said Texas Governor Abbott, whose state led the lawsuit, in a statement. Alejandra was one of those illegal crossers.

Sanchez released a statement Tuesday afternoon calling the court decision “another setback for our dysfunctional immigration system”. The Attorneys General of 26 Republican-ruled states filed suit, arguing that the president overstepped his authority.

The Democratic presidential candidates criticized the 5th Circuit decision.

Regardless of whether the Supreme Court takes up the case before then, it is sure to become a major point of contention during the 2016 election campaign. The global Rescue Committee helps refugees and migrants obtain legal status in their new countries and helps them assimilate.