The Obama administration was handed a blunt courtroom loss on immigration from the U.S. Court of Appeals which found, in essence, the president cannot go forward with his plan to shield five million illegals from deportation – that he has to abide by the same rules and laws as every other American.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans ruled with a two-to-one voice to uphold a lower court’s injunction blocking the White House from going forward with its deferred-action plan – and to make the injunction permanent. The decision, the Washington Post reported, was not exactly surprising. As WND previously reported, Obama had already devised a pre-decision back-up plan that included defying the Fifth Circuit if the panel ruled against him.
But now the block is official and it means more delays for the implementation of some of Obama’s signature immigration plans.
“The president must follow the rule of law, just like everybody else,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was leading up the coalition of 26 states suing the Obama administration for its executive action to grant temporary amnesty to millions of illegals.
He went on, the Washington Post reported: “Throughout this process, the Obama administration has aggressively disregarded the constitutional limits on executive power.”
Judge Andrew Napolitano on Fox & Friends said Obama would probably try to downplay the decision, but it was a significant clamp to his executive overreach.
“This is a victory for the rule of law,” Napolitano said. “You want the Congress to write the laws, not the president. … This is as profound personal defeat for [Obama].”
Pro-amnesty groups were quick to turn eyes to the Supreme Court, the likely final stop in the long-simmering disagreement over Obama’s executive immigration moves.
“Once the green light is given [by the Supreme Court], it will make it that much more difficult for any administration, Republican or Democrat, to undo the program,” said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, the Washington Post reported.
A White House official said lawyers for Obama are reviewing the decision, which they called erroneous. The administration, meanwhile, is moving forward with the next court step.
“The Department of Justice remains committed to taking steps that will resolve the immigration litigation as quickly as possible,” said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for the Justice Department, in the Washington Post. “The Department disagrees with the Fifth Circuit’s adverse ruling and intends to seek further review from the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Feds hope the case will go to court this spring.
Obama’s executive action from 2012 delayed the deportation of hundreds of thousands of illegals who came into the nation as minor-aged children. It also let illegal parents of U.S. citizens to obtain three-year work permits and stay in the country.
