Posted on 02/20/2015 11:35:28 AM PST by jazusamo
The Obama administration will seek an emergency court order to move forward with President Obama’s executive action on immigration.
Officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) plan to seek what is known as an emergency stay that would essentially undo a Texas-based federal judge's injunction from earlier this week. If the stay is granted, the government could restart a pair of executive programs that will shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said DOJ will file for the stay by "Monday at the latest."
The emergency stay had been sought by immigrant rights advocates, who want to get the programs up and running as soon as possible while the appeals process plays out.
"We — as immigrants and as Americans — have waited for nearly a quarter century for these much-needed improvements to our broken immigration system," Marielena Hincapié, head of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), said Friday in a statement. "We should not allow a flawed legal decision to delay these changes any longer.”
Making good on earlier vows, DOJ will also file a separate appeal seeking to restart the executive programs.
"We will seek that appeal because we believe when you evaluate the legal merits of the arguments, that there is a solid legal foundation for the president to take the steps he announced last year to help reform our immigration system,” Earnest said.
At issue are two new initiatives launched unilaterally by Obama on Nov. 20.
The first expands eligibility for the president's 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which halts deportations and allows work permits for certain undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. The second, known as DAPA, would extend similar benefits to the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents.
Combined, the programs could affect as many as 5 million immigrants living in the country illegally.
Many states, however, were quick to object. And Texas — joined by 25 other states — filed a lawsuit contending the programs marked an abuse of executive authority that would cripple their budgets with exorbitant new costs.
In a decision announced near midnight on Monday, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen agreed, arguing that the administration failed to comply with a federal law governing the adoption of new federal rules.
Hanen has not yet ruled on the merits of the states' complaints, but said they have a significant enough case that both the DAPA and expanded DACA programs should be put on hold until the legal challenges are resolved.
The effects of the decision were immediate, as administration officials quickly announced that they would not begin accepting applications for either program until the court decisions are final.
Before the ruling, the Homeland Security Department was poised to begin accepting applications for the expanded-DACA program this week, and the for the DAPA program in May. Both have been suspended indefinitely.
Hanen's injunction does not affect the original DACA program, which remains up and running.
— Last updated at 2:13 p.m.
BTW, I couldn’t care less who they are. America needed dramatic immigration reform, legal and illegal, decades ago.
None of this is an accident.
Hate him back.
Works for me.
Agreed!
America got “reform” from Teddy K in 1965 and look at what we got and where we are.
It’s The Self Proclaimed King versus a majority of the States.
One man stands in front of an entire nation and proclaims his word Law.
Will it stand?
I wish Obama would work half as hard for Americans as he does for illegals.
Yes, Texas is part of the 5th Circuit, and the appeal would have to go to them - they can't just find another district judge to overturn the first one. And the 5th Circuit is currently the most conservative one in the country.
Emergency stay goes to Hansen to rule on first.
Until the next election, probably.
Hanen
I would listen to their argument if they could explain to me why an “emergency order” is needed to deal with an illegal immigration situation that’s been going on for decades.
You forget that the minute the GOP does this the MSM jumps in and yells louder. And MSNBC's ratings soar and they make more money.
The process IS working out. Let Obama and his minions hang themselves. It takes a very long while but it's happening.
Agreed...I believe the only emergency is in boy _residents mind.
Judge Hanen did something Bammy isn’t used to, he told him no.
The emergency is the illegals have tax refunds pending. 5 million X 2-3000 bucks, watch zero make the argument that consumer spending is critical.
He’s saying, “It is an emergency for me to single handedly change a law which has been happily in effect for years. I NEED to change it!!!”
Hey Barack, “Screw.”
Amnesty is forever. If Obama's executive amnesty is not stopped, the country is finished. Moreover, if we don't drastically reduce the numbers brought in legally, i.e., the 1.1 million permanent legal immigrants who enter each year, the result will be the same. Amnesty just hastens the process.
I don't seen how this is ever reversed. We are seeing the results of the 1965 Immigration Act. When the history of the US is written hundreds of years from now, historians will point to the 1965 Immigration Act as the single most important factor that caused our downfall.
I have been working almost nine years now on the immigration issue as part of a grassroots organization that lobbies on the Hill and in Richmond. I work with CIS, NumbersUSA, FAIR, the Tea Party, and others on this issue. We have been losing for a long time fighting a rear guard action against the Dems and Establishment Reps. There are only a few who get the gravity of issue like Jeff Sessions David Vitter, and Steve King,
The sad irony is that this could be a winning issue for the GOP similar to how it is being played by UKIP and Marine LePen. The majority of the American people are against amnesty and more legal immigration. The corporate paymasters ensure that both parties do their bidding even if destroys the country in favor of their bottom line. They socialize the costs and privatize the profits. This country is headed towards civil unrest and an angry populace who see the growing gap between rich and poor. If we truly had a surplus of labor, wages would be going up, not down.
In any event, the real issue is legal immigration, which has a far greater impact on our country than illegal aliens. You won't hear any of the conservative pundits even mentioning it including Levin and Rush.
Yeah, thats all we need: People who have never seen snow helping us to move it. Perhaps if the immigration problem was coming from Finland or Sweeden that would work.
[ And this is when a True Statesman and Leader of the Senate would abolish the Filibuster and bombard Obama with legislation on what we the people want,forcing him to VETO EVERYTHING and look like the petulant,marxist,muslim,man-child he truly is.
Force him to show his True Colors. ]
Turtle Face is not a real leader, he is a self important weasel!
If Ted Cruz were Leader of the senate it would have been done a month ago...
[ Luis Gutierrez, says the Hispanics are livid and they’re going to really take it out on you at the next election ,LOL ]
Because this SOB has real genuine concerns about the health of the GOP.... riiiiight....
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