AP
July 10, 2015
A
federal appeals court in New Orleans was set to hear arguments Friday
over President Barack Obama's plan to protect from deportation as many
as 5 million immigrants
living illegally in the United States.
Announced
in November, the plan was harshly criticized by Republicans in Congress
as an executive overreach. Texas and 25 other states challenged the
plan in federal court,
and U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas, granted a
preliminary injunction on Feb. 16.
Arguments
in the Obama administration's appeal were set for a two-hour hearing
before a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal.
Supporters of the plan,
including members of labor unions and immigrants' rights groups,
planned to rally outside the courthouse Friday morning and hold a news
conference after the hearing.
The
panel is not expected to rule immediately. Either side could appeal a
loss to the full 5th Circuit or the Supreme Court — a process that will
eat up time with only
about a year and a half left in Obama's second term.
Justice
Department lawyers arguing for the administration have said Texas had
no legal standing in the matter. Texas' solicitor general countered that
granting legal status
to immigrants will be costly for Texas, with the state incurring costs
for providing drivers' licenses, schooling and health care to immigrants
who are granted permission to stay.
Obama's
executive orders were intended to expand a program that protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The
other major part would extend deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for some years.
Two
members of the panel hearing arguments Friday were on a panel that
voted in May to not allow the plan to proceed while the appeal is
pursued.
In
the May 26 ruling, judges Jerry Smith and Jennifer Walker Elrod said
the federal government lawyers are unlikely to succeed on the merits of
the appeal. Judge Stephen
Higginson disagreed in a lengthy dissent.
Friday's panel includes Smith, Elrod and Carolyn Dineen King.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment