The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals finally heard the U.S. Department of Justice’s emergency appeal to the temporary block of President Obama’s November 2014 immigration actions.

In February a federal judge stalled applications for the extended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, as well as deferred action for parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said people could start filing paperwork for this one some time in May), while a lawsuit against both executive actions on behalf of 26 states, including Arizona, is resolved. 
From an article on The New York Times this morning:

If the government lawyers fail in their bid to reverse the judge’s preliminary injunction, Mr. Obama’s immigration efforts could remain in legal limbo for months, raising doubts about whether the policies will be carried out before the president leaves office.

The rare hearing before a three-judge panel allowed lawyers for both sides to make their cases publicly. In most similar cases, legal experts said, appeals courts make decisions based solely on written briefs. In the high-profile case, however, each side had one hour to argue—twice the amount of time generally provided to lawyers in Supreme Court cases. 

Lawyers for Mr. Obama insisted that the states have no right to challenge the executive actions because they will suffer no direct harm if the moves are carried out. They asked the appeals court to lift the preliminary injunction while the legal case proceeds.

Despite the temporary injunction, immigration rights activists pleaded undocumented people who could benefit from either one of the programs to continue plans to apply—from gathering documents to raising money to cover filing costs.

This afternoon, U.S. Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois, as well as representatives from national immigration groups, will host a community forum on the immigration actions at 5:30 p.m. at Pima Community College Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road.

“Attendees will learn vital information about how they or someone they know can participate in President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs. They will also hear directly from local students impacted by these programs,” a press release from Grijalva’s office said. 

From the New York Times:

If the appeals court lifts Judge Hanen’s injunction, administration officials could quickly move to carry out the executive actions. That would mean that millions of undocumented immigrants could soon begin applying for protection under a program that would allow them to remain in the country legally but would not provide a path to citizenship.

Opponents could still seek to block the actions by appealing to the Supreme Court. And even if the programs move ahead, the underlying legal challenge could still continue in Texas. Briefs on the merits of the challenge are due in mid-May, and an initial hearing could come in June.

This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2015.

I was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I moved to Tucson about 10 years ago. Since I was old enough to enjoy reading, I developed an interest in writing, and telling stories through different...

15 replies on “Court Hears Emergency Appeal to Temporary Block of Obama’s Extended DACA, DAPA Programs”

  1. Deport all illegals. Raul and Luis should be deported back to Mexico since they don’t feel that they are American.

  2. How aré you going to deport Luis Gutierrez to Mexico … He’s Puerto Rican… born in the USA..

    Ignorance at it’s best…

  4. Seems he thinks he is one of them. I am aware there is a difference between a Mexican and Puerto Rican because my brother in law is Puerto Rican and he does not relate to illegals like this guy does.

  5. Send Raul to Venezuela, since he doesn’t feel that citizenship means anything. He is such a communist. So let him line up for rationed toilet paper in Caracas! Viva la Revolution!

  8. We are losing our sense of humanity.
    Learn your history; USA was founded by immigrants for immigrants. We are talking about human lives, people that just like you want the best for their family. Nothing remotely funny…

  9. Losing out sense of humanity? Losing our nationality.

    The difference is, immigrants came through Ellis Island, legally. You are comparing apples and cacti in this matter.

  10. Immigrants came through Ellis Island neither legally nor illegally as no legality existed. If you could get yourself on a boat whether you paid your fare, snuck onto it, or came willingly as an indentured slave or brought as slave – all were welcome and needed for the development of this country and yet at every step of the way this government had attempted to take away the rights of the people it has used to attain it’s status.

    -The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot. – Mark Twain (1835– 1910)

  12. Ilegals just what the British called us when we try to fight for are freedom.
    Ignorance this country is full of selfish people and does not want to share a free country.
    Christian country? I think not.
    I never knew coming to a country and trying to live better was illegal.

  13. By breaking laws to do it? Yes there is something wrong with that. Our federal government has created the need for immigration reform, and then systematically offered no viable solutions. Open the flood gates to illegals is at best simply election fraud, but other countries call it ethnic cleansing. Why don’t we call it what it is?

  14. By breaking laws to do it? Yes there is something wrong with that. Our federal government has created the need for immigration reform, and then systematically offered no viable solutions. Open the flood gates to illegals is at best simply election fraud, but other countries call it ethnic cleansing. Why don’t we call it what it is?

  15. Listen, the Shining City on a Hill is no more. The world is a scary, combative and competitive place. At some point Americans need to put Americans first, because no other country is going to.

    No amount of Social Justice Warrioring is going to fix other nations or make their governments treat their own people better outside of wars, only their won citizens can do that.

    Granted, if someone can legally come to the United States and perform a job to better themselves and their families, doing a job that can’t be fulfilled by an American citizen, whether it be dishwasher or engineer, outstanding!

    Our schools are failing, our infrastructure is deteriorating, our elderly and veterans are mistreated and ignored. It is hard to say, “Give us your weak, tired and poor”, when you are speaking to your own citizens.

Comments are closed.