Wall Street Journal
By Nathan Coppel and Miriam Jordan
July 9, 2015
The
Obama administration on Friday will make another attempt to persuade a
federal appeals court to let it move forward with its plan to defer
deportations for millions
of undocumented immigrants.
If
the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals doesn’t overturn a ruling by a
lower-court judge, the immigration initiative could remain mired in a
legal dispute beyond President
Barack Obama’s term in office.
Leaders
from Texas and 25 other largely Republican states have challenged the
legality of Mr. Obama’s executive immigration action, announced in
November, alleging that
it represented an unconstitutional overreach of presidential power
because it took place without approval from Congress.
The
Justice Department has countered that the president was within his
authority, and leaders in more than a dozen mostly Democratic states, as
well as dozens of cities
including Los Angeles and New York, have filed briefs supporting the
administration.
But
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, based in Brownsville, Texas,
temporarily blocked the immigration plan in February, and it has been
effectively stalled since.
On
Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in New Orleans, will hear
oral arguments on whether Judge Hanen’s block should stand. The
administration contends that the
law grants the executive branch the prosecutorial discretion to
prioritize who should be removed from the country. It also claims that
the states lack legal standing to challenge its immigration program.
But
the administration faces long odds in the Fifth Circuit. In May, a
three-judge panel of the court denied the administration’s request to
stay Judge Hanen’s injunction
while the two sides continued to battle it out in court, concluding in a
2-1 ruling that “the government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of
its appeal.”
The
two Fifth Circuit judges who sided against the administration in May,
Republican appointees Jerry E. Smith and Jennifer Walker Elrod, are
among the three judges who
will consider the follow-up appeal. They will be joined by Carolyn
Dineen King, who was appointed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter and
is new to the case.
Legal experts said the case likely will wind up before the Supreme Court and could ultimately land back in Judge Hanen’s court.
“A
trial of this magnitude could drag out well beyond the president’s
tenure,” said Dale Wilcox, executive director of the Immigration Reform
Law Institute, which opposes
the immigration program.
For
immigrants set to receive deferred deportations an additional delay
would be painful, said Shoba Wadhia, who teaches immigration law at Penn
State Law School and believes
the immigration program rests on solid legal ground.
“There
are many families facing deportation who were relying on the
president’s deferred-action program and have been left feeling even more
vulnerable and confused about
the future,” she said.
Ahead
of Friday’s hearing, pro-immigrant activists from across the country
descended on New Orleans for what is expected to be the biggest
demonstration since the president’s
plan landed in court.
“In
New Orleans I am representing my family and millions of other families
in the same situation,” said Elizabeth Rodriguez, 26, who traveled to
the city from Los Angeles.
She said that she and her three siblings were born in the U.S. and
attend college, but their father has been in the country for three
decades without legal status.
Advocates
said they want to remind 2016 presidential contenders that many
U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants will be eligible to vote for
the first time in the next
election.
“We
have been mobilizing our communities to ensure we send a strong message
to Democrats, Republicans and the country that we are going to fight,”
said Cristina Jimenez,
managing director of United We Dream, which represents undocumented
youth.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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